Yankees Rumors

Nestor Cortes Likely To Be Placed On IL With Shoulder Issue

By Darragh McDonald | June 4, 2023 at 9:30pm CDT

9:30pm: Judge tells Hoch that he expects to undergo X-rays and/or an MRI when the club gets back to New York.

5:58pm: Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes has a shoulder issue and is likely headed for the 15-day injured list, with Bryan Hoch of MLB.com among those to relay word from manager Aaron Boone (Twitter links). Boone hopes that Cortes will only miss one or two starts but the southpaw is undergoing an MRI to determine the exact nature and severity of the issue.

It’s not clear exactly when the issue arose, though Boone says Cortes has been having issues recovering in between his starts. If the club does indeed have to proceed without Cortes, that would obviously not be ideal, but it would perhaps at least lead to an explanation for his diminished results on the season.

The lefty bounced around to various clubs in the early parts of his career before breaking out with the Yankees in the last two years. He tossed 251 1/3 innings over 2021 and 2022, posting a combined 2.61 ERA in that time. He struck out 26.9% of opponents while walking 6.4%. Through 11 starts this year, his ERA is way up to 5.16 while his strikeout rate has dropped to 23.4% and his walks are up to 7.5%.

Despite that tepid performance, the Yanks surely don’t need yet another pitching injury to deal with. Frankie Montas and Carlos Rodón have yet to appear so far this season due to their own injuries and the club has also has to navigate absences from Domingo Germán and Luis Severino. Those latter two are now back in action, slotted alongside Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt in the current rotation.

If Cortes does indeed miss a small amount of time, the club would likely need a spot start from one of Randy Vásquez or Jhony Brito. Both of them are on the 40-man roster and have been up in the majors at times this year. The Yanks have a handful of off-days this month that would limit the need for their services, though that need would obviously grow if the shoulder issue with Cortes proves to be more significant than hoped.

Rotation help could be coming further down the line as Rodón continues his march towards his Yankee debut. He suffered a forearm strain during Spring Training and then was slowed by a back issue that doctors have told him is chronic. Nonetheless, he’s been ramping up his activities in recent weeks and will face live hitters on Wednesday, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. His return to the majors leagues isn’t imminent as he will still need to build up to a full starter’s workload, but it’s encouraging that he’s jumping through the usual hoops without issue at the moment.

Elsewhere on the roster, Aaron Judge is out of tonight’s lineup with a minor issue. He made a spectacular catch last night, crashing into the wall at Dodger Stadium and busting open the bullpen gate, Twitter video per Hoch. Boone says Judge banged his toe and is sore and receiving treatment, per Hoch. There are no plans to place him on the injured list right now but it will depend how things progress. “I don’t know,” Boone tells Hoch in response to the IL question. “Not at this point. We’ll see how he is today, tomorrow and the next day.”

That will obviously be an important situation to monitor as Judge is having yet another excellent season. The reigning American League MVP has 19 home runs on the year already and is slashing .291/.404/.674 for a wRC+ of 188. With fellow outfielders Harrison Bader and Greg Allen already on the injured list, it would be a significant blow if Judge were to join them. With Judge out of the lineup tonight, the Yanks have Willie Calhoun, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Jake Bauers in the outfield with Giancarlo Stanton in the designated hitter slot. Franchy Cordero is on the 40-man roster and could be recalled if Judge does eventually require an IL stint.

Yankees Place Ryan Weber, Greg Allen On Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | June 3, 2023 at 4:21pm CDT

The Yankees placed two players on the injured list, with right-hander Ryan Weber heading to the 15-day IL due to a right forearm strain, and outfielder Greg Allen going to the 10-day IL due to a right hip flexor strain. Utility man Oswaldo Cabrera and left-hander Nick Ramirez were called up from Triple-A to fill the spots on the active roster.

Weber told the New York Post’s Greg Joyce that he other reporters that he felt soreness last night during his two innings of work in the Yankees’ 8-4 loss to the Dodgers. An MRI will reveal what exactly could be wrong with Weber’s forearm and elbow area, and he and the Yankees can only hope that the worst-case scenario of a Tommy John surgery isn’t the outcome.

Now in his ninth MLB season, Weber has spent the last two seasons in the Bronx on minor league deals. The 2022 season saw Weber constantly sent up and down to Triple-A in a flurry of DFAs and outrights, though 2023 has at least seen a bit more stability, as the Yankees didn’t select him to the big league roster until May 11, and Weber has remained on the 26-man until today.

Though Weber has tossed only 25 MLB innings between all of his moves on and off the roster, he has performed well when wearing the pinstripes, delivering a 2.16 ERA over those 25 relief frames. Never a big strikeout pitcher, Weber has only a 10.3% K% as a Yankee, but also a 51.8% grounder rate and a tiny 2.1% walk rate. While a small sample size, it does represent a nice big step up from Weber’s 5.28 ERA over 167 innings in his first seven seasons, and why Weber has continued to get looks from the Yankees despite the lack of missed bats.

Allen previously played for the Yankees in 2021, and he only made his return two weeks ago after a trade from the Red Sox. Allen’s encore in the Bronx has thus far seen him hit .214/.313/.571 over 17 plate appearances, as his three hits have included a home run and a triple.

It’s a nice start for a player acquired as outfield depth, but with Allen now on the IL, the Yankees will again turn to Cabrera to help out in their troubled left field position. While Aaron Judge is having his typically excellent season and Harrison Bader has been very good when healthy, left field has been a revolving door for New York, with seven different players already seeing at least some time in left this season. With Bader now on the injured list due to a hamstring strain, the Yankees’ outfield depth is further tested.

Yankees Release Kole Calhoun

By Steve Adams | June 3, 2023 at 11:45am CDT

TODAY: Morosi reports that the Yankees have granted Calhoun his release, allowing him to return to the free agent market where he can search for a new minor league deal.

June 1: Veteran outfielder Kole Calhoun has exercised an out clause in his minor league deal with the Yankees, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com. The team will have 72 hours to add him to the roster or else grant him his release, Morosi adds. The 35-year-old Calhoun has had a strong start in Scranton, slashing .293/.402/.561 with four homers, six doubles and a pair of triples in 97 trips to the plate thus far.

Calhoun, who’s spent the bulk of his career with the Angels, was a steadily productive right fielder with generally strong defense from 2013-20, batting a combined .249/.324/.431 with 156 home runs in 4183 plate appearances and winning a Gold Glove (2015) during that time. He’s twice topped 25 home runs in a season — 26 in 2015 and 33 in 2019’s juiced-ball season — and has otherwise been good for 15 to 20 homers per year. His pull-side power would seem like a good fit for Yankee Stadium if they opt to bring the veteran up to the big league roster.

Yankees outfielders have been woefully unproductive as a whole in 2023, batting a combined .218/.284/.417 — good for a 91 wRC+ that ties them for 23rd in Major League Baseball. That production has come almost entirely from Aaron Judge (.262/.385/.627) and the again-injured Harrison Bader (.261/.290/.511).

With Giancarlo Stanton limited to 21 plate appearances so far, the Yankees have leaned on a rotating door of utility players, journeymen and unproductive veterans as they look to round out their outfield. None of Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Aaron Hicks, Franchy Cordero, Willie Calhoun or Oswaldo Cabrera has been productive, however, and more recent additions like Jake Bauers and Greg Allen don’t have the big league track record to inspire much optimism.

The Yankees optioned Cordero and Cabrera to Triple-A today, likely setting the stage for the return of Stanton (as well as Josh Donaldson and reliever Tommy Kahnle). That’ll add one outfield-capable bat back to the lineup, but given the dismal production from the bulk of the Yankees’ corner options, there’s certainly a case for giving the elder Calhoun a look rather than letting him return to free agency.

Orioles Acquire Jose Godoy From Yankees

By Anthony Franco | June 2, 2023 at 7:28pm CDT

The Yankees have traded minor league catcher José Godoy to the Orioles, according to an announcement from New York’s Triple-A affiliate. While there were no specifics on the return, transactions of this nature tend to see a nominal amount of cash sent the other way. Godoy is not on the 40-man roster, so no additional move was necessary.

Godoy, 28, signed a minor league deal with New York in late March. He’d spent Spring Training with the Angels but was cut loose before the season started. He suited up 11 times with the Yankees’ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre affiliate, hitting .270/.341/.514 in 41 trips to the plate. He hadn’t played in a game since May 7 and has spent the past few weeks on the development list (typically used to send non-injured players to an organizational complex).

A left-handed hitter, Godoy has 26 MLB games under his belt. He’s divided those among three teams, logging cups of coffee with each of the Mariners, Pirates and Twins. The Venezuela native is a .271/.324/.412 hitter in parts of four Triple-A campaigns.

The Orioles have a pair of Triple-A catchers — Anthony Bemboom and Maverick Handley — on the minor league injured list. Godoy joins Mark Kolozsvary in Norfolk as a healthy non-roster depth option. The Yankees recently optioned Ben Rortvedt to take the majority of their Triple-A catching work.

Yankees Activate Stanton, Donaldson, Kahnle; Rodon Transferred To 60-Day IL

By Anthony Franco | June 1, 2023 at 1:32pm CDT

1:32pm: The Yankees have now formally announced the full slate of moves. Stanton, Donaldson and Kahnle have all been reinstated from the injured list, while Cabrera, Cordero and Krook have been optioned. They indeed transferred Rodon to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Kahnle. Again, that’s a formality and doesn’t impact Rodon’s eligibility to return. He’s already missed more than 60 days, and the “60-day” term of his IL stint is retroactive to his initial placement on the injured list.

10:57am: The Yankees announced this morning they’ve optioned outfielders Oswaldo Cabrera and Franchy Cordero and reliever Matt Krook to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. (Jack Curry of the YES Network first reported Cabrera’s forthcoming demotion last night.) As Chris Kirschner and Brendan Kuty of the Athletic write, that clears the way for New York to formally reinstate Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson and Tommy Kahnle from the injured list before tomorrow’s series opener against the Dodgers.

Kahnle is coming back from the 60-day IL and will require a 40-man roster spot, though that can be opened by transferring Carlos Rodón to the 60-day IL. Rodón has already missed more than two months, so that transfer would be a strictly procedural move that doesn’t affect his return eligibility.

Cabrera is the most notable of the players being sent out. He was New York’s Opening Day left fielder and has started 41 of 58 games overall. The majority of his time has been spent in the corner outfield, though he’s also logged some action at each of the non-first base infield spots.

While Cabrera has shown plenty of defensive flexibility, he’s not offered much at the plate. He owns just a .195/.246/.292 line with a trio of home runs over 168 trips. Cabrera logged a similar amount of playing time last season but had a more formidable .247/.312/.429 showing as a rookie. In light of his sophomore slump, the Yankees will send him back for a reset against upper minors pitching.

Paired with Aaron Hicks’ recent release, Cabrera’s demotion leaves left field to some combination of Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Jake Bauers and Willie Calhoun. Stanton may eventually log some corner outfield reps as well, but manager Aaron Boone said yesterday he’ll break back in as a strict designated hitter for the first few weeks (via Kirschner). The club wants to be cautious about his responsibilities after a near six week absence due to a strained left hamstring.

Stanton had connected on four home runs in 13 games over the season’s first couple weeks. He returns to build on a .269/.296/.558 slash line. The former NL MVP has topped 30 homers in each of the last two seasons.

He’s not the only veteran right-handed bat returning to Boone’s lineup. Donaldson has been out for nearly the entire season thanks to a balky right hamstring. He’s gotten into just five games, a disappointing start to what he’d hoped what be a bounceback second season in the Bronx. Donaldson hit only .222/.308/.374 last year but Boone has already indicated he’ll be back in the lineup on an everyday basis once healthy. That should push DJ LeMahieu back into a multi-positional role after he’s been mostly at the hot corner of late.

Kahnle will be making his first appearance during his second MLB stint as a Yankee. The veteran righty returned to the Bronx on a two-year, $11.5MM free agent deal. He’d thrown just 12 2/3 innings for the Dodgers last season but showed mid-90s velocity and excellent ground-ball numbers in that brief look. Kahnle had been delayed by biceps soreness earlier in the season but has returned to throw five innings over as many outings on a minor league rehab appearance.

Yankees Place Harrison Bader On Injured List

By Anthony Franco | May 30, 2023 at 11:50pm CDT

11:50pm: Bader is expected to miss at least “a few weeks,” Boone said after tonight’s win over the Mariners (relayed by Chris Kirschner of the Athletic).

8:20pm: The Yankees placed center fielder Harrison Bader on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain before this evening’s game in Seattle. New York also optioned catcher Ben Rortvedt to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Fellow backstop Jose Trevino has been activated from his own IL stint, while Franchy Cordero was recalled to take Bader’s spot in the outfield.

Bader’s IL placement comes as little surprise. Manager Aaron Boone acknowledged it was a possibility this morning after Bader had left last night’s game. He underwent an MRI this morning. It’s not clear how significant the strain is or how long the Yankees expect him to be sidelined, but he’ll be out for at least a week and a half.

It’s the second time this year in which Bader has landed on the shelf. He missed the first month of the season with an oblique strain. Since returning, he’s been one of New York’s best players. Bader is hitting .267/.295/.511 with six homers and stolen bases apiece in 26 games. He’s paired that with characteristically excellent defense over his 205 1/3 innings of center field work. When healthy, Bader has shown the ability to be a very productive two-way outfielder. He’s unfortunately been no stranger to the IL, though, as he’s yet to surpass 427 MLB plate appearances in a season.

That combination of productivity but a checkered injury history will make Bader an interesting free agent case next winter. Alongside Cody Bellinger and the older Kevin Kiermaier, he’s slated to top the center field class. His market will obviously be determined in large part by how quickly he makes his return and his form down the stretch.

Aaron Judge got the bulk of the center field work last time Bader was on the shelf. Greg Allen, who wasn’t on the roster last month, is getting the nod there tonight. Judge is in right field with Isiah Kiner-Falefa manning left against Seattle righty Logan Gilbert.

Yankees Notes: Bader, Trevino, Stanton

By Darragh McDonald | May 30, 2023 at 2:17pm CDT

Yankees outfielder Harrison Bader departed yesterday’s game with right hamstring tightness and it seems he’s unlikely to make a quick return. Manager Aaron Boone tells Talkin’ Yanks that Bader will miss at least a few games and could even require a trip to the injured list.

The club can take a couple of days to decide since IL stints can be backdated by three days, provided that the player hasn’t participated in those intervening games. The Yanks can give Bader some time to see how his hamstring feels and then place him on the IL if it doesn’t improve. Of course, taking that path means playing shorthanded for a few days, but it could possibly allow them to avoid putting Bader on the shelf if his health improves.

Injuries have become a frequent thread in Bader’s career, as he’s spent some time on the IL in each full season from 2019 to the present. He played 103 games in 2021 and 86 last year, then started the 2023 season on the injured list due to an oblique strain. He eventually returned and has been playing very well of late, hitting .267/.295/.511 through 26 games while stealing six bases and providing quality glovework. However, he’s now at risk of having that production put on hold yet again, depending on how things develop in the coming days. Whether he goes on the IL or not, the club will have to fill center field in his absence, with playing time potentially going to Aaron Judge, Isiah Kiner-Falefa or Greg Allen.

Elsewhere on the roster, catcher Jose Trevino seems ready for a fairly quick return. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com relays word from Boone that the backstop could be activated during the club’s current series against the Mariners, which runs through Wednesday. He landed on the 10-day injured list May 18 with a hamstring strain, so it looks like his stint could wind up being just over the minimum.

The glove-first catcher led the league in Defensive Runs Saved last year with 21 and also had the best framing marks in the majors according to FanGraphs. He wasn’t quite at the same pace this year but was still above-average before straining his hamstring. Once he’s able to return, it could mean that Ben Rortvedt gets optioned back to the minors. He has done a good job filling in for Trevino, hitting .286/.444/.429 but in a small sample of nine plate appearances.

Lefty Carlos Rodón is also on track to return to the team, though his return won’t be as imminent as Trevino. He threw a 20-pitch bullpen session at high intensity, per Hoch, and will soon throw another bullpen before moving on to live hitters. Signed to a six-year, $162MM deal this offseason, the southpaw has yet to make his Yankee debut after suffering a forearm strain in the spring and then dealing with back problems.

With both Rodón and Frankie Montas having been absent all season so far, it’s opened some rotation work for other hurlers like Domingo Germán, Clarke Schmidt, Jhony Brito and Randy Vásquez. Germán also had to miss some time due to his 10-game sticky stuff suspension, though he has now served that and returned yesterday. That shuffling of arms has left the club’s rotation ERA at 4.38 for the year, placing them 15th out of the 30 clubs in the league. Rodón has a 2.67 ERA dating back to the start of the 2021 season and will undoubtedly provide the club with a boost once healthy, but he still has a long road ahead of him in building back up to a full starter’s workload, since he’s effectively just starting his delayed spring ramp-up now.

There are some other reinforcements that appear to be closer at hand, as the Double-A Somerset Patriots announced (Twitter links) that third baseman Josh Donaldson, outfielder/designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton and right-hander Tommy Kahnle are all joining that club for rehab work tonight. Donaldson and Kahnle were already rehabbing with other affiliates but this will be Stanton’s first game action in a while. He was out to a strong .269/.296/.558 start before suffering a hamstring strain about six weeks ago. He’s always been an excellent hitter but health has been a frequent concern lately, as he’s been on the IL in each season since 2018.

AL East Notes: Fairbanks, Rizzo, Blue Jays

By Mark Polishuk | May 28, 2023 at 8:46pm CDT

In the words of Rays manager Kevin Cash, Pete Fairbanks’ “hip locked up” while the reliever was getting ready to enter today’s game with the Dodgers. Instead, Fairbanks halted his warm-up and went to the dugout once the inning was over. Cash told Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times and other reporters that according to the team trainer, Fairbanks’ “muscles look to be okay, but we saw him walk very gingerly from the bullpen and he was in some pain.” More will be known after Fairbanks undergoes further examination.

Fairbanks already spent 15 days on the injured list due to forearm inflammation earlier this season, and missed a couple of other games due to his symptoms of Raynaud’s disease, which manifests in the form of finger numbness. Injuries have been a frequent setback for Fairbanks during his pro career, but he has been a very effective reliever when healthy, as indicated by his 2.84 ERA over 117 1/3 innings since joining the Rays during the 2019 season. Tampa is 13 games into a stretch of 16 games in 16 games, and while Cash is hopeful that his bullpen can hold up until Thursday’s off-day, the club doesn’t have much room to maneuver if Fairbanks has to miss even a couple of days to recover.

Yankees Option Randy Vasquez, Recall Matt Krook

By Nick Deeds | May 27, 2023 at 9:13am CDT

The Yankees announced this morning that the club has recalled left-hander Matt Krook to the big league club following the decision last night to option right-hander Randy Vasquez to Triple-A.

Krook, 28, was converted to relief ahead of the 2023 campaign after being selected to the Yankees’ 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 Draft during the offseason. A fourth-round pick by the Giants in the 2016 draft, Krook spent time in the Giants and Rays organizations before joining the Yankees in 2021. Prior to 2023, the lefty prospect had primarily been used as a starter, with a 3.57 ERA in 244 2/3 innings at the Double-A and Triple-A levels during his time in the Yankees organization. Despite those solid numbers, Krook was moved to the bullpen thanks to command issues; the lefty has never had a walk rate below 10% in a full season throughout his entire professional career.

So far, the move to the pen has proved to be a revelation for Krook. He’s posted a microscopic 1.04 ERA with a 1.79 FIP in 17 1/3 innings at Triple-A across twelve appearances this season. While his walk rate is still a concerning 16.9%, he’s striking out a whopping 47.9% of batters faced, mitigating the issue to an extent. Krook has clearly shown enough that the Yankees believe him to be ready for a debut in the big leagues, where he will provide the club with a quality left-handed option alongside Wandy Peralta.

Headed back to Triple-A to make room for Krook on the roster is Vasquez, who started yesterday’s game for the Yankees in a major league debut of his own. The 24-year-old righty held his own against a tough Padres lineup, allowing two runs on four hits (one home run) and three walks while striking out six in 4 2/3 innings of work. Vasquez figures to act as a depth starter for the Yankees in Triple-A going forward, a valuable role given the numerous injury woes the Yankees has suffered in the rotation so far in 2023.

Yankees Release Aaron Hicks

By Steve Adams | May 26, 2023 at 11:55pm CDT

The Yankees announced that veteran outfielder Aaron Hicks, whom they designated for assignment earlier this week, has now been released.

Hicks is in the fifth season of a seven-year, $70MM contract that didn’t pan out nearly as well as the Yankees hoped. The former first-round pick and top prospect hit .255/.368/.470 (128 wRC+) with 42 home runs for the Yankees from 2017-18, and he gave them a respectable .231/.350/.431 output in the 2019-20 seasons. Since that time, however, his offensive production has cratered as injuries have mounted. Hicks hit just .188/.263/.261 in 76 plate appearances this season and is a .209/.315/.310 hitter in 655 plate appearances dating back to 2021.

For all his struggles, Hicks has generally graded as an average or better left fielder in recent years. His once-excellent defense in center field has faded, but he posted a hefty 8 Defensive Runs Saved through just 413 innings in left field as recently as 2022. The switch-hitter hasn’t had success regardless of opponent in 2022-23, but Hicks had a decent showing against lefties in 2021 and has a career .247/.327/.415 batting line as a right-handed hitter facing lefties. He’s also walked in 12.5% of his 3352 Major League plate appearances, including an above-average 9.2% walk rate even in the midst of this year’s freefall at the dish.

Hicks clearly isn’t the player he was at his peak, but now that he’s been released and the Yankees are going to be stuck picking up the tab, he’d make some sense for an outfield-needy club — particularly one seeking some help against left-handed pitching. Hicks is hardly a lock to rediscover any of his former production, but it won’t cost another team much to see if escaping the Yankee Stadium spotlight and the constant scrutiny surrounding his contract and diminished play can help him rebound to at least some extent. He certainly wouldn’t be the first player to rebuild some stock after leaving the Yankees for a lower-pressure environment.

The Yankees remain on the hook for the rest of this year’s $10.5MM salary and will also owe Hicks a $9.5MM salary in each of the next two seasons, plus a $1MM buyout on a 2026 club option. Any team that wants to sign Hicks will only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster. That sum will be subtracted from the Yankees’ obligation to Hicks, but even if Hicks catches on with a new club and sticks on the roster moving forward, the Yanks are stuck with the overwhelming majority of that contract.

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