Yankees Rumors

Injury Notes: Wright, Trout, Altuve, Judge, Bryant

By Connor Byrne | August 11, 2018 at 2:58pm CDT

In a rare piece of encouraging news for the woebegone Mets, the team announced that injured third baseman David Wright will begin a rehab assignment on Sunday, when he’ll play five innings for the club’s Class-A affiliate in St. Lucie. It’s not clear whether the 35-year-old Wright has a real chance to return this season, but if he does come back, it would be one of the greatest triumphs of the 2018 campaign. After all, a laundry list of upper body injuries limited Wright to just 75 appearances from 2015-16 and have completely kept him out of MLB action over the past couple years. The seven-time All-Star hasn’t appeared in a major league game since May 27, 2016, or a minor league contest since Aug. 26, 2017.

Catching up on other notable injury news from around the majors…

The Angels placed center fielder Mike Trout on the 10-day disabled list Friday, retroactive to Aug. 6, with right wrist inflammation, Maria Guardado of MLB.com was among those to report. Trout’s balky wrist has kept him out of action since Aug. 1, perhaps derailing the perennial MVP candidate’s chances of taking home his third such award in 2018.
Speaking of AL MVPs, last year’s winner, Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, has been out since July 26 with right knee soreness. Unfortunately, Altuve will remain on the shelf at least through the Astros’ current homestand, which ends Aug. 15, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. The Astros’ middle infield did get some good news Friday when shortstop Carlos Correa returned from a lower back injury that kept him on ice for six weeks.
Continuing with the theme of injured AL superstars, Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge is getting “better and better every day,” manager Aaron Boone informed George A. King III of the New York Post and other reporters Friday. Boone added he’s “optimistic” that Judge, who has been unavailable since July 26 with a chip fracture in his right wrist, will progress to picking up a bat “in the next couple of days.” New York has struggled to replace the great Judge, evidenced by its consistent use of the underwhelming Shane Robinson in the outfield during the slugger’s absence.
Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant, out since July 26 with left shoulder inflammation, told Patrick Mooney of The Athletic and other reporters Saturday that he “absolutely” expects to return in 2018. In order to preserve his body, Bryant noted that he “plans to alter his gameday routine,” writes Mooney, who adds that the 26-year-old would like to play until he’s 40.

AL East Notes: Gibbons, Judge, Davis, Dombrowski

By Mark Polishuk | August 10, 2018 at 6:37pm CDT

In an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM this morning (audio link), Blue Jays manager John Gibbons addressed a recent Ken Rosenthal report stating that the Jays “seem destined” for a managerial change. “That’s the reality of these jobs. Sooner or later it’s going to happen,” Gibbons said, though he didn’t believe he would be replaced anytime in the near future. As for the longer term, Gibbons raised the possibility that he might not be the best fit for a team “starting to get into a full-blown rebuild,” which could describe the Jays’ approach. “Maybe they would benefit from getting a new fresh face that could grow with the young players and things like that. I’m not so sure I want to go through one of those things, a total rebuild, but we’ll probably sit down before it’s all said and done and talk it out,” Gibbons said. The skipper’s deal runs through the 2019 season, with the Blue Jays holding a club option for 2020.

Some more rumblings from around the AL East…

Aaron Judge was originally projected for a three-week absence after suffering a chip fracture in his wrist on July 26, though Yankees manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other media that Judge is going to need more time. Judge hasn’t yet begun swinging a bat, and an examination on Thursday revealed that the fracture still hasn’t fully healed. Once the pain subsides, Judge and the team are planning on a fairly quick return to the lineup, as Judge has been otherwise able to stay in game shape and train with the game while on the DL. Judge told Hoch and others today that he doesn’t anticipate being out of action for much longer.
In a wide-ranging and very candid interview with MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko, Orioles slugger Chris Davis provides some insight into his disastrous 2018 season. Davis is struggling to a near-historic extent, hitting just .159/.242/.297 over 388 PA and posting the worst fWAR (-2.3) of any player in the league. “I’d be lying if I said the frustration and the negativity and just the overall lack of performance wasn’t weighing on me. I think it’s definitely taken a toll on me this year more than ever,” Davis said, even noting that he’d thought about quitting the game. The interview is well worth a full read, as Davis details the various tactics he and the O’s have tried to get him back on track, the extra pressure he put on himself after signing his seven-year, $161MM contract to remain in Baltimore, and his clubhouse role as one of the few veterans left after the Orioles cleaned house at the trade deadline.
The powerhouse Red Sox roster has come at the expense of a rather depleted farm system, though president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski tells the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato that it wasn’t his intent to deal away as many prospects in Boston as he did in his previous job as the Tigers’ GM. When the White Sox approached Dombrowski about dealing Chris Sale, however, it was an opportunity Dombrowski couldn’t pass up. “The Chris Sale trade came out of the blue, because we were not anticipating the White Sox (trying) to trade him and we wanted to get involved and we traded some talent,” Dombrowski said. While Boston has dealt a lot of blue chip talent, however, it was also firm in holding onto other youngsters that the Red Sox feel are cornerstone pieces, such as Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers. “I don’t think it was ever tempting to trade Devers,” Dombrowski said. “People continue to ask about him a lot. But we like him a lot, same thing with Benintendi.”

Quick Hits: Soria, Renfroe, Gordon, Stanton

By Kyle Downing | August 9, 2018 at 8:44pm CDT

Joakim Soria suffered a mild right groin strain during the Brewers’ ninth-inning meltdown against the Padres today. Soria walked off the mound with an apparent injury after allowing a go-ahead grand slam to Hunter Renfroe. According to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, the malady was later described as a mild right groin strain. There’s no official word on the severity of the injury yet, so it’s not known at this time whether Soria will need to miss any games. The right-hander came over from the White Sox just prior to the trade deadline in exchange for a pair of minor leaguers: left-hander Kodi Medeiros and right-hander Wilber Perez.

Here are a few other small items from around the league this evening…

Speaking of Renfroe, the Padres outfielder has been on a tear of late. Including tonight’s grand slam off Soria, Renfroe’s slugged four homers in his past four games. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Tribune suggests that Renfroe’s performance could solidify an everyday spot in the lineup even after Wil Myers returns from the disabled list. That’s good news for the 26-year-old in the wake of today’s news that some of the young Padres outfielders are being intensely evaluated, but it’s also worth noting that Franmil Reyes also homered tonight; his third in his past four games. It will be interesting to see how the Padres address their corner outfield logjam this offseason, or if they choose to at all (Reyes and Renfroe both have minor league options remaining and can be stashed at Triple-A).
The Mariners moved Dee Gordon all the way down to ninth in the batting order in tonight’s game. That’s largely due to the speedster’s incredibly pedestrian offensive performance on the season. He’s hitting .280, but with just a .300 on-base and .343 slugging percentage. The biggest culprit to his lackluster showing is a paltry 1.5% walk rate that’s by far the lowest in the majors and approximately half the size of the next player on that list (Salvador Perez of the Royals). Though the plan right now seems to be for Robinson Cano to usurp some playing time from Ryon Healy when he returns from his suspension, it’s fair to wonder whether Gordon could rest in favor of Cano on occasion down the stretch, if he can’t figure out how to show more patience.
With his 121.7 MPH homer tonight off Rangers starter Ariel Jurado, Giancarlo Stanton broke a Statcast record. The Yankees’ headline offseason acquisition drilled the ball at a launch angle of 17 degrees, propelling it an estimated 449 feet. It’s officially the hardest-hit homer that Statcast has ever tracked. It’s part of a larger trend for Stanton, who has heated up after a somewhat average start to the season. The right-hander’s .308/.363/.561 batting line since the start of June is much more in line with what the Bombers had imagined when they took on the lion’s share of his contract from the Marlins this offseason.

Quick Hits: Bumgarner, Strasburg, Correa, Happ

By Kyle Downing | August 9, 2018 at 7:14pm CDT

Kerry Crowley of The Mercury News boldly calls Madison Bumgarner’s contract situation the Giants’ “elephant in the room”. Crowley wonders whether Bumgarner must be traded in order to spark a rebuild for the club, who failed to make any significant moves at the trade deadline and now sit at 57-58 on the season after struggling to the league’s worst record last year (tied with the Tigers, of course). Whether the club ultimately decides to “rebuild or remodel”, Bumgarner’s the only player on the roster whose contract might warrant teams forking over a significant prospect return; something an aging Giants team could certainly use. Crowley describes Bumgarner’s future as “uncertain” in the amidst a mediocre team with a gargantuan payroll.

More on a few interesting items from around MLB this evening…

The Nationals received some welcome news on Stephen Strasburg today, as the right-hander reportedly “felt good” after tossing a 42-pitch bullpen session. According to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post, he’s likely to throw another one tomorrow and could potentially embark upon a rehab assignment soon thereafter. He’s been on the DL since June 26th with a cervical nerve impingement, but on the bright side he was cleared of any structural damage in his shoulder shortly thereafter.
The Astros appear to be even closer to getting a valuable asset back on the field, as Carlos Correa was spotted at Minute Maid Park today, with Christian Boutwell of MLB.com among those eye witnesses. Though he was inactive for today’s game, the former Rookie of the Year shortstop believes he could be back on the field as soon as tomorrow. Correa’s having a down season by his standards, hitting .268/.352/.480 with a slightly-bloated 24.4% strikeout rate.
The Yankees, for their part, already got a notable player back from the DL. J.A. Happ was activated today, filling the roster spot left vacant after they optioned Chance Adams to Triple-A last night. Happ’s been on the DL with hand, foot and mouth disease for the past week plus, but will return to the rotation and attempt to provide the value the Bombers envisioned when they traded Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney in order to obtain him. Happ’s posted a 4.05 ERA through 21 starts

Quick Hits: Darvish, Bartolo, Bird, Padres

By Connor Byrne | August 8, 2018 at 10:17pm CDT

Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish could be on track to rejoin the team’s rotation in early September, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. Darvish’s two-inning, 33-pitch sim game on Wednesday went well, manager Joe Maddon suggested. The next step for the 31-year-old Darvish is to embark on a rehab assignment, which may happen by the end of next week, per Wittenmyer. Triceps and elbow problems have kept the big-money free-agent signing off a major league mound since May 20.

Jacoby Ellsbury Undergoes Hip Surgery

By Jeff Todd | August 7, 2018 at 12:58pm CDT

The Yankees announced today that outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury has undergone surgery to repair the labrum of his left hip. He’s expected to require six months of recovery time.

Ellsbury’s season is now over before it ever began. The 34-year-old has been on the disabled list all year with a dizzying array of injuries. He did not appear in game action at any level.

The veteran outfielder joined the Yankees on a monster seven-year, $153MM contract that has not turned out as hoped. It runs through 2020 and also includes a $5MM buyout on a $21MM option for an additional season. It is not clear whether or to what extent the Yanks insured the contract.

Ellsbury has fallen far short of expectations in the Bronx. He was a 3.5 fWAR performer in his first season, but hasn’t even reached 2 fWAR in any of the three ensuing seasons. Though Ellsbury has certainly been worthy of a roster spot, and has produced useful numbers against right-handed pitching, the overall production is nothing close to what the Yanks have paid for.

AL East Notes: Estrada, Judge, Rays, Pirates

By Mark Polishuk | August 5, 2018 at 8:29pm CDT

Marco Estrada threw a gem for the Blue Jays on Saturday, allowing one earned run and just one hit while walking two and striking out four over seven innings against the Mariners. As Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi notes, “the outing is sure to renew [trade] interest in” Estrada’s services, as the right-hander spent most of July on the disabled list recovering from a glute strain and a minor blister issue. It has been an inconsistent 2018 season for Estrada, though he was turning things around to the tune of a 2.35 ERA over five June starts before his injury problems cropped up. Had Estrada stayed healthy, he almost surely would’ve joined J.A. Happ, Seunghwan Oh, and other veterans moved by the Jays as the team looks to rebuild for 2019 and beyond. Toronto will continue to be a team to watch in the August trade market, given the presence of Estrada, Josh Donaldson, and others that could be enticing trade candidates if they can be worked through the waiver process.

Here’s more from the AL East…

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge gave reporters (including ESPN.com’s Coley Harvey) an update on his recovery from a chip fracture in his wrist, saying that he is still feeling some pain, though “some of the range of motion is coming back,” and he has been able to make short-range throws of up to five feet. Judge was originally estimated to miss roughly three weeks, and while that timeline hasn’t officially changed yet, he has yet to begin taking dry swings. On the plus side, Judge is participating in conditioning and running drills so he’ll theoretically be able to make a quick return once his wrist is ready.
The Rays were one of baseball’s busiest teams during trade deadline season, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times provides a recap on all of the club’s dealings. With salaries always a concern in Tampa, the Rays now have only a bit over $8MM committed to their 2019 payroll, all owed to Kevin Kiermaier via the outfielder’s multi-year contract. Topkin calculates that between the minimum salary players, Kiermaier, and arbitration-eligibles Tommy Pham and Matt Duffy (but not C.J. Cron), the Rays may have approximately $25MM in payroll for 2019. Even if the Rays won’t approach even their modest $70MM payroll from the start of this season, they’ll still have some room to spend on upgrades this winter. In regards to Cron, Topkin thinks his home run total could push his arbitration number beyond the Rays’ comfort zone, so the first baseman could potentially be a trade candidate or maybe even a non-tender candidate despite his solid season.
Also from Topkin’s piece, the player to be named later acquired by the Rays from the Pirates in the Chris Archer trade still isn’t known, and the mystery prospect may not change organizations until the minor league season ends. Indeed, Pirates GM Neal Huntington said today during his radio show (hat tip to MLB.com’s Adam Berry) that “nothing’s imminent” about the players to be named later involved in the Archer trade and also in the trade with the Rangers for Keone Kela.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/4/18

By Kyle Downing | August 4, 2018 at 10:02pm CDT

We’ll use this post to keep track of some minor transactions throughout the day…

Latest…

The Tigers have made their second minor deal of the day, this time acquiring righty Eric Villanueva from the Mets in exchange for cash considerations, Woodbery tweets. Villanueva, 20, had been with the Mets since they chose him out of Puerto Rico in the 30th round of the 2016 draft. During his time with the Mets, Villaneuva worked at the Rookie level and struggled to a 5.14 ERA with unsightly strikeout and walk rates (5.1 K/9, 11.2 BB/9) across 40 1/3 innings.

Earlier…

The Yankees have acquired infielder Gio Urshela from the Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations; Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune was first to take note of the transaction, and the move has since been announced by both organizations. The Jays designated Urshela for assignment on June 26th, about seven weeks after they claimed him off waivers from the Indians. The 26-year-old is widely known for his highlight-reel defensive plays, although he’s also error-prone on the big stage; Urshela made four errors while with Cleveland during last year’s ALDS. His tepid bat has been what’s really held him back, though. Urshela’s career batting line is .225/.274/.315 across 499 plate appearances with Cleveland and Toronto.
The Indians announced that they’ve traded right-hander George Kontos to the Yankees in exchange for cash considerations; the Yankees in turn announced that the veteran has assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre. The 33-year-old has pitched in parts of every MLB season since 2011, though he’s never shuffled around the league quite this much. Kontos began 2018 with the Pirates before being shipped to Cleveland, and will now head to his third team of the year. He’s earned himself a 4.68 ERA across 25 innings thus far, and his FIP (5.93) suggests he’s been lucky to attain even that mediocre mark. However, if he can return to the form of the 3.12 ERA hurler he’s been across his career on average, he could yet prove a useful piece for the Bombers.
The Tigers have acquired righty Christian Binford from the Orioles in exchange for cash considerations, per Evan Woodbery of MLive. Across 12 appearances this season (seven starts) with the O’s Double-A affiliate, Binford has pitched to a 4.95 ERA. While he’s walked just 1.28 batters per nine innings, he’s only managed to strike out a measly 5.59. However, his 4.35 xFIP suggests that he’s been slightly unlucky in terms of fly balls going for home runs. While Binford has remained at Double-A all season, he’s seen time at the minors’ highest level in each of the past two years (while with the Royals organization). In fact, prior to this season, the 25-year-old had never known any other organization outside of Kansas City, who selected him in the 30th round of the 2011 draft.

Yankees To Promote Chance Adams

By Steve Adams | August 3, 2018 at 11:57am CDT

11:57am: Sherman tweets that Adams has been informed by the team that he will indeed be promoted to make his Major League debut Saturday.

9:53am: Barring a “last-second shift in plans,” the Yankees will promote pitching prospect Chance Adams to make his Major League debut Saturday, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). The YES Network’s Jack Curry suggested on last night’s post-game show that Adams could be an option Saturday.

The 23-year-old Adams will have the unenviable task of making his debut against a loaded Red Sox lineup. He’ll also need to be added to the 40-man roster, though the Yankees have an open spot at present, so there’ll be no need to designate someone for assignment or make a 60-day DL move to accommodate the likely promotion.

[Related: New York Yankees depth chart]

Adams has long rated as one of the organization’s top prospects and entered the season widely ranked as one MLB’s top 100 overall minor leaguers. The start to the year for Adams, though, proved to be disastrous. Through his first 10 starts, the former fifth-round pick (2015) was mauled for a 5.93 ERA as he allowed 22 walks and eight homers through just 44 innings.

However, Adams has largely turned his season around in short order. Over the past 11 starts, he’s looked like a different pitcher, notching a 3.33 ERA with just three home runs allowed in 56 frames. He’s still walked too many batters in that time (26), but Adams has displayed a penchant for missing bats for most of the season. His recent improvements have left him with solid, if unspectacular overall numbers in 2018: a 4.50 ERA, 9.4 K/9, 4.4 BB/9, 1.01 HR/9 and a 43 percent ground-ball rate in 98 Triple-A innings.

The Yankees’ current rotation is in a state of flux following the addition of Lance Lynn and J.A. Happ (who has since been placed on the disabled list) prior to Tuesday’s non-waiver trade deadline. New York announced yesterday that struggling right-hander Sonny Gray is headed to the bullpen, with Lynn stepping into the starting five to take his place. The plan had been for righty Luis Cessa to start while Happ recovers from hand, foot and mouth disease, but Cessa was called upon for 3 2/3 innings of relief last night and was clobbered for five runs on seven hits and a walk in that appearance.

It doesn’t seem all that likely that Adams will be a long-term addition to the rotation this time around, though he obviously has a chance to factor into the team’s plans further down the line. A strong first showing this weekend against a tough opponent would go a long way toward earning him additional looks later this season.

Given the timing of his first call to the Majors, Adams’ earliest path to free agency would come upon completion of the 2024 season, and he wouldn’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2021 season. Of course, further time spent in the minor leagues could alter both of those timelines.

Yankees Move Sonny Gray To Bullpen

By Steve Adams | August 2, 2018 at 3:48pm CDT

The Yankees have informed right-hander Sonny Gray that he’ll be moved from the rotation to the bullpen, tweets Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network. Gray has taken the demotion in stride, it seems. “I’ve struggled and they’ve given me ample opportunity to figure it out,” the righty said (via Marakovits on Twitter). “I continued to grind … I’m going to go to the pen and continue to try to figure it out.”

It’s a disappointing outcome not only for Gray himself but for a Yankees organization that parted with three promising young players to acquire the right-hander from Oakland in July 2017. The Yankees sent outfielder Dustin Fowler, shortstop Jorge Mateo and right-hander James Kaprielian to the A’s in order to acquire the final two and a half seasons of club control over Gray.

[Related: Updated New York Yankees depth chart]

The 28-year-old Gray pitched fairly well for the Yankees last season, logging a 3.72 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 47.3 percent ground-ball rate in 65 1/3 innings for New York during regular season play. He was hit hard in an ALDS start against the Indians but gave the Yankees a strong five-inning outing against the Astros in the ALCS (one earned run on one hit and a pair of walks with four strikeouts).

The 2018 season, though, has been an unmitigated disaster for Gray. Through 21 starts and 103 2/3 innings, he’s limped to a 5.56 ERA. While he’s still averaging 8.6 K/9 and has cut back on the home runs (1.13 HR/9), Gray’s walk rate is elevated substantially (3.1 BB/9 in 2017, 4.0 in 2018). Last year’s 28 percent hard-contact rate is a distant memory for Gray, as that number has jumped to 36.2 percent in 2018.

There was some speculation that the Yankees could look to trade Gray prior to the non-waiver deadline. Because most of the damage against him has come at Yankee Stadium (7.71 ERA, 10 homers allowed at home; 3.62 ERA, three homers allowed on the road), many viewed him as a potential change of scenery candidate. That said, there’s some reason to believe that a move to the ’pen could prove quite beneficial for Gray as well. Opponents have batted .250/.319/.424 when facing him for the first time in a game; those numbers soar to .319/.393/.478 the second time through the order.

While the move to the ’pen could serve as a temporary solution for the Yankees, it’s still fair to wonder about Gray’s long-term future in the organization. He’s earning $6.5MM in 2018 and is controlled through the 2020 season, though even with his ugly results this year, he’d still be in line for a modest raise through the arbitration process. While the Yankees can certainly afford to pay him $7MM+, it’s possible that his struggles in the Bronx could make him a trade candidate or even a non-tender candidate in the offseason if he’s unable to right the ship and put together a strong finish to the season.

For now, Gray will work out of the ’pen while the Yankees rely on Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia and new acquisitions Lance Lynn (picked up in a trade with the Twins) and J.A. Happ (once Happ returns from the disabled list due to a bizarre bout of hand, foot and mouth disease).

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