Yankees’ Bryan Mitchell To Miss Three Months With Fractured Toe
Yankees right-hander Bryan Mitchell will miss three months due to a fractured toe, Jack Curry of the YES Network reports (Twitter link). Surgery may be necessary, though that won’t be decided until Mitchell visits a specialist, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). In addition, Mitchell also has Grade 3 turf toe.
Mitchell suffered the injury while covering first in yesterday’s Spring Training camp against the Braves. In that very same game, incredibly, Andrew Miller also suffered a chip fracture in his right wrist, leaving the Yankees potentially down two key relievers in a matter of innings.
Miller has said he plans to pitch through the injury to his non-throwing hand, though Mitchell unfortunately had no recourse. The Yankees were building around a potentially superb bullpen this season led by the Aroldis Chapman/Miller/Dellin Betances trio, though Chapman is suspended for the first 30 games, Miller is dealing with his wrist problem and now Mitchell is also hitting the DL.
The 24-year-old Mitchell was expected to take on a greater role with the Yankees this season, stepping into the swingman job left open after Adam Warren was dealt to the Cubs in the Starlin Castro trade. With so many injury questions within the Yankees’ rotation, Mitchell was tabbed as a key depth piece who could step up as a starter if necessary. With Mitchell out of action, it could open the door for Anthony Swarzak or rookies Luis Cessa or Johnny Barbato to join Ivan Nova as New York’s primary rotation depth option.
The righty looked impressive in 14 2/3 spring innings, allowing just one earned run and one walk while recording 11 strikeouts. Mitchell posted a 5.31 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 1.89 K/BB rate over 40 2/3 innings from 2014-15, with 20 of his 23 appearances in the bigs coming out of the New York bullpen. He possesses a big fastball, averaging 96.1 mph on the pitch last season.
Andrew Miller Suffers Chip Fracture In Right Wrist
7:08pm: Miller has a chip fracture in his right wrist, Curry tweets. He will see a hand specialist to determine the best course of action to treat it.
4:39pm: Miller has undergone X-rays and they came back negative, Jack Curry of YES tweets. Miller still has to have a CT-scan.
3:03pm: Yankees reliever Andrew Miller left today’s action after taking a comebacker to his right wrist. It has been diagnosed as a bruise for now, but Miller is headed for further testing, as George A. King III of the New York Post was among those to tweet.
With Aroldis Chapman out for the first thirty games of the season, Miller was expected to reprise his closing duties from a year ago. The high-powered lefty has firmly established himself as one of the game’s very best relievers, and any absence would certainly tell. Of course, the Yankees also have yet another top-quality pen arm in Dellin Betances.
It’s obviously far too soon to know the prognosis, and the injury is far less worrisome than had it been to his opposing hand. But with Opening Day less than a week off, even a brief absence could well require a trip to the DL.
AL East Notes: Loney, Yankees, Levine, Smith
Here’s the latest from around the AL East…
- Hearing his name mentioned in trade speculation is nothing new for James Loney, as the veteran first baseman tells Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune. “I think I’ve dealt with this pretty much every year in my career, at some point, trade rumors. It gets kind of old. I’m not putting too much stock in it, because nothing’s happened yet,” Loney said. It’s no secret that the Rays have been shopping Loney and his $8MM salary for much of the offseason, though no takers have been found.
- Loney’s presence is one of the many playing-time complications facing the Rays as they prepare to set their Opening Day roster, as Mooney and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times explore in separate pieces. Dealing Loney wouldn’t just save some payroll, but it would also free up a much-needed roster spot for either one of the Rays’ several available position players or perhaps another reliever. If a trade can’t be found, Topkin speculates that Tampa could hang onto Loney for a few weeks into the season until a fifth starter is needed, or the team could just see Loney’s salary as a sunk cost and release him.
- The Yankees optioned Rob Refsnyder to Triple-A camp, with manager Joe Girardi telling reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) that the club wants Refsnyder to get more experience playing third base before using him as a utility infielder at the big league level. Ronald Torreyes and Pete Kozma are battling for the backup infield job now, though Giradi didn’t rule out the possibility that the Yankees would look at adding an infielder when other teams make their spring cuts.
- While the Yankees will continue to support income redistribution in the next collective bargaining agreement, president Randy Levine tells FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal that the Yankees certainly want to see some changes made to the current system. “What is very burdensome to us — and is unfair — is the amount of money we have to pay in revenue sharing compared, for example, to teams in our market that pay 10 times less than us,” Levine said, referring to the Mets. The revenue-sharing contributions are determined by a formula based around net local revenue. Levine said the Yankees made around $90MM in revenue-sharing payments in 2015. According to Forbes magazine, the Yankees still led all MLB teams in revenue ($516MM) last year, even accounting those revenue-sharing payments.
- There has been some speculation that Carson Smith‘s potential as an injury risk could’ve been a reason the Mariners dealt the reliever to the Red Sox this winter, Fangraphs’ David Laurila writes. Smith is on the DL with a strain of his flexor mass muscle and it isn’t known when he’ll return, though the injury isn’t thought to be too serious. The red flags for Smith are his unusual delivery and his heavy use of the slider — only four pitchers (minimum 60 innings) threw a higher percentage of sliders than Smith did in 2015. “I’ve heard that my whole life, but throwing from a lower arm slot is something that’s come natural for me,” Smith told Laurila. “I’ve found ways to manage it, whether it’s the weight room, the trainer’s room, or on the field.” MLBTR contributor Bradley Woodrum recently cited Smith as a slightly above-average risk for Tommy John surgery as a part of his larger study to predict which pitchers will require TJ procedure in the future.
- In other AL East news from earlier today, David Murphy opted out of his minor league contract with the Red Sox and is already drawing interest from the Orioles and other clubs….the Orioles have discussed releasing Hyun Soo Kim from his two-year contract.
Chris Denorfia Opts Out Of Yankees Deal
The Yankees announced that outfielder Chris Denorfia has exercised his opt-out clause. Denorfia signed a minor league pact with the Yankees in early March that allowed him to exit the contract by the end of the month.
Denorfia, 36 in July, inked a one-year deal worth $2.6MM with the Cubs prior to the 2015 season. The veteran turned in a .269/.319/.373 slash line with three homers across 231 plate appearances, numbers that weren’t in line with the best work of his career. Still, he offers solid hitting against lefty pitching with a career .285/.353/.419 line in those situations.
Prior to his slide in 2014, Denorfia had a run of four solid seasons at the plate, and he was hoping to return to that form for the Bombers. Instead, he’ll presumably seek employment elsewhere with an eye on turning things around.
AL East Notes: Yankees, Shields, Holt, Fowler
While the total value of international signings grabs most of the headlines, it’s also interesting to look at the volume, and Ben Badler of Baseball America recently did just that. Over the calendar year of 2015, the Yankees signed more talent from outside the United States — 57 players in all — than any team in baseball. The AL East as a whole was active, per Badler, with the Red Sox and Rays also falling in the top five (but the Blue Jays and Orioles sitting in the bottom ten).
Let’s take a look at the latest out of the division:
- Despite the Yankees‘ stockpile of powerful late-inning arms, the club is on the lookout for middle relievers with camp winding down, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Current options include pitchers such as right-handers Bryan Mitchell, Johnny Barbato, and Branden Pinder and lefties Chasen Shreve, Tyler Olson, and James Pazos — most of whom have quite limited experience in the majors. While it’s easy to imagine these and other arms all spending time at the big league level, it also makes sense for the club to pursue a veteran addition or two.
- Ivan Nova and CC Sabathia are fighting for the final Yankees rotation spot, with the loser likely to open in the pen. As ESPNNewYork.com’s Andrew Marchand reports, the club is giving real consideration to using Sabathia in relief despite his huge contract. But Nova didn’t perform well at all today in his penultimate start, as Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog writes.
- The Red Sox‘ “stance doesn’t seem to have changed” on Padres righty James Shields, per ESPN.com’s Scott Lauber (via Twitter), with concerns persisting as to whether his flyball-heavy batted ball results would play well at Fenway. That factor played an important role in the club’s decision not to pursue him in free agency, and the Sox appear uninterested in chasing him now via trade. It was reported earlier today that Boston has been in touch with San Diego on pitchers, but there are certainly other names that may have been of greater interest.
- Meanwhile, Red Sox skipper John Farrell says that utilityman Brock Holt could see significant action in the outfield, as Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports. “There is a chance for him to get a good number of at-bats out in left field,” said Farrell. “How those at-bats in left field are divvied up, that remains to be seen. I’m not going to say it’s a strict platoon, but there are going to be multiple guys getting at-bats out of that position.” Needless to say, that statement represents a signal that Rusney Castillo will need to earn his playing time, as he’ll also face competition from Chris Young. Boston has endeavored to light a fire under several presumed regulars this spring, with other options helping to force the action with strong showings.
- The Orioles not only offered Dexter Fowler $33MM over three years, but would’ve gone as high as $36MM, Heyman tweets. It seemed at one point, of course, that Baltimore was set to sign the outfielder before he would up back in Chicago for one year and $13MM.
Alex Rodriguez May Retire After 2017
THURSDAY: Rodriguez may not be entirely firm about his decision to retire, as he texted Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News that “I’m thinking in terms of my contract which ends in 2017. After that, we’ll see what happens. I’ve got two years and more than 300 games to play.” One of Rodriguez’s friends tells Feinsand that the slugger could decide to keep playing if he’s reasonably close to Barry Bonds‘ all-time home run record. A-Rod currently has 687 homers, so he’s still a significant distance behind Bonds’ mark of 762.
WEDNESDAY: Long-time MLB star Alex Rodriguez has decided to retire after the 2017 season, he tells Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com. The veteran will wrap up his career when his contract with the Yankees is up after next season.
Rodriguez, 40, will no doubt go down as one of the most talented and controversial players in baseball history. He went from hyped prospect to star in his first full season, a 1996 campaign with the Mariners in which he led the league in batting average while playing a stellar shortstop. That was his first of five outstanding seasons in Seattle and first of six in which he finished with an OPS of over 1.000.
Entering the open market in advance of his age-25 season, Rodriguez inked a ten-year, $252MM contract with the Rangers — an unheard-of sum at the time and still one of the three largest baseball player contracts ever. A-Rod continued to produce in Texas, finally winning an AL MVP award in 2003, though the club didn’t post a winning season over his three years.
Things took an interesting turn when Rodriguez was shipped to the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano before the following season. Though he was still a quality defender up the middle, he moved to third base to play alongside Derek Jeter. Rodriguez went on to take home two more most valuable player nods in 2005 and 2007, then opted out of his deal in the midst of the World Series — only to strike yet another ten-year pact to stay in New York, this one for $275MM. Rodriguez ultimately helped lead the way to a 2009 World Series win, though his offensive production began to wane as he entered his mid-thirties.
PED allegations and a 2014 suspension significantly marred his legacy, however, and at one point it seemed in question whether he’d ever suit up for the Yankees again. But Rodriguez has, rather miraculously, managed to rebuild some of his public image and turned in a strong .250/.356/.486 campaign last year as the club’s regular DH.
New York owes Rodriguez $20MM in each of his final two campaigns. He’ll likely surpass Babe Ruth on the career home run list at some point before hanging up his spikes. While his performance record will always come with at least an implicit asterisk, Rodriguez already rates among the top 15 position players in history in terms of total fWAR.
AL Notes: Red Sox, Rangers, Eppler
The Red Sox could trade from their considerable catching depth, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal writes. Blake Swihart projects as their starter, while Christian Vazquez has looked good defensively after having Tommy John surgery last year. There’s also veteran Ryan Hanigan, as well as Sandy Leon, who MacPherson notes isn’t on the 40-man roster but is “being paid commensurate with a front-line depth option.” At some point, MacPherson suggests, youngsters Swihart and Vazquez will likely be the Red Sox’ top two catchers. That would imply that Hanigan could be a candidate to be dealt, with the Astros and Rangers as potential trade partners. Hanigan hit a decent .247/.337/.328 last year, has a reputation as a good defender and framer, and is only owed $3.7MM in 2016, so he could be an attractive target for teams in need of catching help. Here’s more from the American League.
- The Rangers have announced that they’ve optioned high-profile youngsters Joey Gallo, Jurickson Profar and Nomar Mazara to Triple-A Round Rock. Gallo has wowed minor-league fans with his power and hit 29 home runs between three levels in 2015, but he struck out in over 40% of his plate appearances in the big leagues and at nearly as high a rate at Triple-A. Profar was ranked the No. 1 prospect in the game by Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus prior to the 2013 season, but he missed all of 2014 and most of 2015 with shoulder issues and has only recently begun playing shortstop again. Mazara, an outfielder, batted .296/.366/.443 in a 2015 season split between Double-A Frisco and Round Rock. Via MLB.com, he ranks as the Rangers’ third-best prospect, with Gallo ranking first.
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times’ profile on new Angels GM Billy Eppler describes Eppler’s earlier days as assistant GM of the Yankees. In particular, Kepner gives Eppler credit for many of the Yankees’ smaller but effective moves, like their 2014 stretch-drive trade for Brandon McCarthy and their 2008 offseason deal for Nick Swisher, neither of which cost the Yankees much. “I think you demonstrate that to the people interviewing you, like, ‘There’s other moves that the Yankees make,'” says Eppler, who had previously interviewed for the Padres’ and Mariners’ GM jobs, as well as interviewing for the Angels job when it previously went to Jerry Dipoto. “It’s not just the $150 million guys and nothing else. There are other moves; they just don’t grab the attention in New York.”
New York Notes: Wright, A-Rod, Tejada, Ellsbury
Here’s the latest from both Big Apple teams…
- Alex Rodriguez‘s health problems have made him the Yankees’ full-time DH while David Wright‘s spinal stenosis makes him questionable for even the modest 120-game plan the Mets originally slated for the star third baseman. As Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes, the health issues faced by these two stars have led to roster flexibility problems for both teams. The Mets don’t have a left-handed hitting utility option available, and Sherman suggests that players like Yangervis Solarte, Derek Dietrich, Luis Valbuena could be good fits as potential trade targets if they’re made available. The Yankees could use both an extra reliever and a versatile infielder as their 25th man, since depth is a need with so many aging stars in both the lineup and rotation. This is a reason why the Yankees didn’t want to give a big league deal to a veteran infielder, as the club hopes Rob Refsnyder can also learn to play third. On the external help front, Sherman suggests that Cody Asche makes sense as a trade target when healthy.
- Signing Ruben Tejada to a minor league deal would’ve greatly helped the Yankees’ utility situation and also given a bit of a PR tweak to the Mets at the same time, Newsday’s David Lennon observes. Tejada rejected the Yankees’ minor league offer for a one-year, $1.5MM Major League deal with the Cardinals.
- X-rays and a CT scan were negative on Jacoby Ellsbury‘s right wrist after the outfielder was hit by a pitch yesterday, though he tells reporters (including Lennon) and his wrist “is in a bad spot” and may need some time for the inflammation to die down. With this and the Yankees’ spring schedule in mind, Ellsbury likely won’t play until Thursday at the earliest, as per Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
- There’s an open spot in the Mets’ bullpen with Josh Edgin still recovering from Tommy John surgery, and ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin looks at some of the roster logistics that could factor into the competition between Erik Goeddel and Jim Henderson. It could end up being a short-term gig for either pitcher as Edgin hopes to be back by the start of May.
Ruben Tejada Rejected Minors Deal From Yankees, Is Weighing MLB Offers Elsewhere
The Yankees made a minor league offer to free agent infielder Ruben Tejada, reports Brendan Kuty of New Jersey Advance Media. However, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports (via Twitter) that the offer was rejected, as Tejada is believed to have a big league offer on the table elsewhere. Newsday’s David Lennon tweets that Tejada is actually considering multiple Major League offers.
The 26-year-old Tejada became a free agent earlier this week when the Mets placed him on waivers and released him after he cleared. He’s been speculatively linked to the Cardinals for the better part of two weeks now, ever since shortstop Jhonny Peralta was learned to have a torn thumb ligament that required surgery and will sideline him for at least the first two months of the season. It’s not clear at this time, though, whether the Cardinals have extended an offer, although ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin reported recently that the Cards had some interest in Tejada before he was even released.
Tejada batted .261/.338/.350 in 407 plate appearances for the Mets last season and is capable of playing second base and third base as well, if needed. He had originally avoided arbitration with the Mets by agreeing to a one-year, $3MM deal, but the Mets tendered him a contract prior to acquiring Neil Walker in a trade and signing Asdrubal Cabrera as a free agent. Arbitration contracts, by nature, aren’t fully guaranteed until Opening Day, so by cutting him with more than 15 days left in Spring Training, the Mets were only required to pay 30 days of his salary. That amounted to about $491K, and Tejada is now free to sign with any club for any amount.
Braves Return Rule 5 Pick Evan Rutckyj To Yankees
The Braves have returned Rule 5 selection Evan Rutckyj to the Yankees, according to an announcement from New York. He obviously cleared waivers given that he’s going back to the New York system, indicating that the rest of the league passed on a chance to step into his Rule 5 rights.
Rutckyj, a 24-year-old southpaw, reached the Double-A level last year for the Yankees and will be shipped to Triple-A upon his return. He spent most of the year at High-A in 2015, and in total ran up 61 2/3 innings of 2.63 ERA pitching with an impressive 12.0 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9.
Atlanta obviously didn’t think that Rutckyj was quite ready to carry that production to a full season in the majors. He got three innings this spring, allowing only one hit but surrendering five free passes.