- Yankees first baseman Luke Voit exited the team’s London-based slugfest against Boston on Saturday with tightness in his core muscle, according to the Bombers (via ESPN.com). Voit told reporters (including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com) that he hopes to avoid the injured list, but the team will know more about his status Sunday. The 28-year-old collected four hits in as many attempts prior to his exit Saturday, upping his 2019 line to .280/.393/.509 (140 wRC+) with 17 home runs in 349 plate appearances. That would obviously be difficult production for the red-hot Yankees to lose, especially considering they may have just seen fellow slugger Giancarlo Stanton go down until at least August. The Yankees replaced Voit on Saturday with Gio Urshela and moved Urshela to third base for the sizzling DJ LeMahieu, who shifted to first.
- Sticking with the Yankees, ace righty Luis Severino is still at least five to seven days from throwing, George A. King III of the New York Post reports. Severino has been shelved for almost three months with a lat strain – an injury that’s 90 percent healed, according to King. However, Severino’s still battling some soreness in the area. There has been plenty of speculation about the Yankees acquiring a starter (perhaps Stroman) in the next month, but they’d likely benefit more from a healthy Severino than any other hurler they could land in the coming weeks.
Yankees Rumors
Giancarlo Stanton Likely Out Until August
June 27: Stanton it unlikely to return in the month of July, general manager Brian Cashman told reporters Thursday (Twitter links via Joel Sherman of the New York Post and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). Cashman projects an August return for Stanton.
June 26: The Yankees will place right fielder/designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton on the 10-day injured list due to a strained posterior collateral ligament in his right knee, manager Aaron Boone announced to reporters (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler). He won’t travel with the team to London for the upcoming series against the Red Sox. Mike Tauchman is on his way up to replace Stanton on the active roster.
Stanton, of course, had only just returned from the IL last week after missing more than two months due to a biceps strain. He went 7-for-23 (.304) with a homer, a double and seven runs knocked in during his brief return to the Bronx, but he’ll now be sidelined for at least another 10 days in what has become an increasingly frustrating campaign for the four-time All-Star and 2017 National League MVP. The latest injury occurred on the basepaths in yesterday’s game; Stanton exited prior to the fourth inning of said contest.
With Stanton once again headed to the shelf for a yet-unspecified period of time, the Yankees will likely lean on Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge as the primary outfielders with newly acquired Edwin Encarnacion lining up as the primary designated hitter. Even a Stanton-less New York lineup is quite formidable now that Judge, Hicks and Didi Gregorius are all healthy at the same time, but the drop in offensive output from Stanton to Gardner is nevertheless notable.
The Yankees have not only weathered but thrived in the face of an exceptional number of injuries thus far in 2019. Despite their substantial injury woes, they’ve opened up a comfortable 6.5-game lead over the second-place Rays, whom they swept at Yankee Stadium last week.
Yankees Designate Kendrys Morales For Assignment
The Yankees announced Tuesday that they’ve reinstated first baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales from the injured list and designated him for assignment. New York also optioned righty Jonathan Holder to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and recalled lefty Stephen Tarpley in his place.
Morales’ roster spot has looked to be in jeopardy since Didi Gregorius returned and the team and added another healthy option to the infield mix. He dodged one bullet and quite likely had his Yankees tenure prolonged due to the calf strain that landed him on the IL 12 days ago, but his tenure in the Bronx now looks to have reached its conclusion. With Luke Voit and the newly acquired Edwin Encarnacion now likely to split time between first base and DH, the Yankees simply don’t have room on the roster for Morales.
The 35-year-old Morales mustered only a .177/.320/.242 line through 75 plate appearances with New York while splitting first base/DH duties with Voit. It’s been a rough season overall for the veteran slugger, who has followed up a solid 2018 season at the plate (.249/.331/.438) with a .194/.313/.253 effort in 201 plate appearances between Oakland and New York. The Yankees will gauge interest in Morales, if they haven’t done so already, and if there’s no suitor in a trade, he’ll likely be released and return to the open market in search of a new opportunity.
Report: Yankees Uninterested In Dealing Clint Frazier For Rental
SUNDAY: Beyond just rental players, the Yankees also don’t want to deal Frazier for a pitcher who is only controlled through the 2020 season, as per FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (video link). This would seemingly remove such popular trade candidates as Toronto’s Marcus Stroman or Cleveland’s Trevor Bauer from consideration in a potential Frazier deal, unless this is a case of the Yankees aiming as high as they can in initial trade talks.
FRIDAY: While the Yankees are willing to discuss young outfielder Clint Frazier in trade talks, Andy Martino of SNY.tv reports that they have no interest in sending him out for a rental player. At least, that’s the word the team is putting out to other organizations at the moment.
Frazier has become a popular topic of discussion in New York since his recent demotion to make way for just-acquired slugger Edwin Encarnacion. Despite slashing a healthy .283/.330/.513 with 11 home runs in 209 plate appearances, Frazier was again dropped back to Triple-A.
It’s not clear that the talented 24-year-old has a path back to a significant role with the Yankees in the near term. With Aaron Judge set to return and Giancarlo Stanton already back in action, the roster is brimming with righty sluggers.
That’s not to say that the Yanks won’t value Frazier. Owner Hal Steinbrenner has spoken highly of the young slugger, though that’s hardly an assurance that Frazier is off limits. The organization is obviously aware of the value of maintaining depth, even if it seems like a bit of a luxury, and Frazier is optionable this season and next.
It still feels like an opportune moment to cash in Frazier, who has hit enough to hold plenty of appeal despite some highly visible defensive miscues and a dust-up with the media. Even if he’s allowed to cross the threshold to his second full year of MLB service, Frazier will be controllable for four more campaigns beyond the present.
Given all the countervailing considerations, the Yankees’ reported position on Frazier makes sense — at this stage of the proceedings, at least. This market’s top rental pieces are perhaps not of overwhelming enough quality to warrant such an outlay. Then again, we have seen even more controllable, higher-end talents shipped out for the right rental scenarios. (The Yanks were notable beneficiaries of just such a swap.) And it’s worth bearing in mind that a few organizations — the Giants, especially, though they could be joined by others — possess multiple intriguing trade assets that could conceivably be packaged together to boost the appeal to the Bronx Bombers. (There’s precedent for that kind of swap, as well.)
Yankees Place Cameron Maybin On Injured List
SUNDAY: The Yankees announced Maybin’s IL placement, which is retroactive to Saturday. The club recalled left-hander Nestor Cortes Jr. from Triple-A Scranton to take Maybin’s roster spot.
FRIDAY, 9:31pm: Maybin said after the game he “felt a pop” in his calf. He’s going to be on the IL for “a while,” according to manager Aaron Boone (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com).
8:32pm: Yankees outfielder Cameron Maybin exited the team’s game Friday with a left calf strain, Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network reports. Maybin will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.
Calf strains often lead to IL stints, which would be a particularly unfortunate outcome for the red-hot Maybin. Then dealing with injuries to starting outfielders Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks, the Yankees acquired Maybin as a stopgap in a late-April trade with the Indians.
New York only gave up cash to get Maybin, who has since played so well that the team hasn’t been willing to get rid of him even as its top outfielders have returned. The club’s unable to send down Maybin, who has no minor league options remaining, so its choices are to designate him for assignment, keep him in the majors or find a taker via trade.
For the Yankees, parting with Maybin this week would have been extremely tough after he hit a home run in each of their four games from June 15-18. The 32-year-old now has five as a Yankee, to go along with an excellent .314/.391/.500 line (137 wRC+) and six steals across 133 plate appearances. For comparison, Maybin hit .254/.322/.368 (92 wRC+) in 3,848 trips to the plate with various teams from 2007-18.
Looking For A Match In A Clint Frazier Trade
In July 2016, when the Yankees were on the periphery of the American League playoff race, they made the bold decision to trade superstar reliever Andrew Miller to the Indians for four players. Outfielder Clint Frazier and left-hander Justus Sheffield, two top 100 prospects, headlined an impressive-looking haul for the Yankees. The Yankees’ hope then was that Frazier and Sheffield would eventually turn into indispensable pieces of their 25-man roster, but three years later, we now know it may not happen. Sheffield’s already out of the organization, which flipped him to the Mariners last winter in a package for two years of control over front-line starter James Paxton. Frazier remains, though his place with the franchise could be on shaky ground.
Frazier, who Yankees general manager Brian Cashman once said possesses “legendary bat speed,” has already racked up his most significant major league playing time this season. Returning from a concussion-marred 2018, the 24-year-old has slashed a solid .283/.330/.513 (118 wRC+) with 11 home runs and a .230 ISO in 2019 plate appearances. Although that’s starting-caliber offensive production on your typical team, a healthy Yankees lineup is anything but ordinary.
The acquisition of designated hitter/first baseman Edwin Encarnacion from the Mariners last weekend helped push Frazier out of New York, which subsequently sent him back to Triple-A Scranton. With Encarnacion and Luke Voit at DH/first and Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, Brett Gardner and Cameron Maybin in the outfield, the team had little choice but to take advantage of its ability to option Frazier. Even with Maybin now going to the injured list, the Yankees may not recall Frazier because he’d mostly ride the bench.
Frazier was understandably displeased with the Yankees when they demoted him, though it seems they still hold him in high regard. Owner Hal Steinbrenner voiced his support for Frazier this week, saying he’s going to be “a big part of this team going forward.” Nevertheless, Steinbrenner’s words won’t quell the trade rumblings hovering around Frazier as the July 31 deadline nears. The Yankees don’t have to trade Frazier, who’s not on track to reach arbitration until after 2020 or free agency until the conclusion of the 2023 campaign, but they may not be able to find consistent playing time for him next year either. While Gardner and Maybin could be gone by then, most or all of Encarnacion (if his $20MM club option is exercised), Voit, Judge, Stanton and Hicks will return in prominent roles.
With little space for Frazier in the near term, the Yankees’ best bet may be to flip him for help this year in an effort to boost a World Series-contending roster. Adding up Frazier’s youth, production in the minors and majors, and controllable status, he’d be a valuable commodity on the trade market. New York’s known to be hunting for a middle- or front-of-the-rotation starting pitcher – something it may be able to acquire by dangling Frazier in talks with other clubs. The Yankees don’t boast a high-end farm system, which would make it all the more logical for them to use Frazier as trade currency this summer.
If the Yankees are going to trade Frazier in the next month-plus, it reportedly won’t be for someone who’s due to become a free agent. Should we take that at face value, it would rule out a deal involving Frazier and Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner – this year’s most hyped rental starter. Regardless, Bumgarner would have to waive his partial no-trade clause for the Yankees.
The Giants’ outfield is abysmal, which would seem to make Frazier a fit, though it’s still unclear whether they’d choose him over another team’s offer that could be fronted by a top 100 prospect(s). After all, the vast outfield at Oracle Park in San Francisco is no place for a weak defender. Frazier has been that to this point. Factoring in his nationally televised misadventures in right field against the Red Sox on June 3, Frazier has posted minus-7 Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-4.0 Ultimate Zone Rating in just 319 innings as an outfielder this season. Those struggles aren’t anything new for Frazier, who’s at minus-12 DRS with minus-8.4 UZR during his 686-inning big league career as an outfielder.
Bumgarner’s the most proven starter among likely trade chips, but he’s not the most valuable. That honor belongs to Tigers lefty Matthew Boyd, who’s enjoying a breakout season, makes a paltry 2019 salary ($2.6MM) and isn’t set for free agency until after 2022. For all of those reasons, Frazier won’t be enough to headline a package for Boyd, who should be able to net the Tigers a bounty headed by premium prospects. Besides, considering the Tigers don’t want to continue their relationship with defensively limited, offensively gifted corner outfielder Nicholas Castellanos, it’s fair to wonder how much they’d value a similar player in Frazier.
Meanwhile, Detroit’s AL Central rental rival in Cleveland may have its own coveted trade chip in righty Trevor Bauer. The Indians are very much in the wild-card race, yet there has still been ample speculation about a Bauer trade. He’s on a $13MM salary right now and controllable through 2020. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com wrote Thursday that a potential Yankees acquisition of Bauer “would probably be centered around” Frazier. There’s logic behind that – the Indians are already familiar with Frazier, who’d be able to help their woeful offense on a cheap salary right away. However, Frazier alone wouldn’t be able to pry Bauer and his year and a half of remaining control out of Cleveland.
It seems the Yankees would stand a better chance of using Frazier to net Blue Jays righty Marcus Stroman, who, like Bauer, is under control through 2020. Stroman doesn’t have Bauer’s upside, but he’s enjoying a fine bounce-back season at an opportune time for rebuilding Toronto. The fact that Stroman’s earning a reasonable $7.4MM will only help the Blue Jays’ cause when they inevitably move him. Stroman would bring back promising prospects in a trade, but if the Jays want a more established player, Frazier’s bat would fit in an outfield whose only productive full-timer has been Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Although New York and Toronto play in the same division, that wouldn’t serve as a deterrent to a trade. These teams are just a year removed from a deadline deal which saw the Yankees acquire starter J.A. Happ for infielder/outfielder Brandon Drury and outfielder Billy McKinney.
Because we’re discussing high-end starters who’ve come up in trade rumors, we would be remiss not to mention Nationals super-ace Max Scherzer and Diamondbacks No. 1 man Zack Greinke. John Harper of SNY.tv reported Friday the Yankees would love to acquire the still-dominant Scherzer (who wouldn’t?), though it seems like much more of a pipe dream than a realistic hope on their part. For what it’s worth, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo shot down the idea of dealing the soon-to-be 35-year-old Scherzer last weekend. Even if Rizzo were to reverse course, Frazier wouldn’t come close to leading a package for Scherzer.
Frazier would have a better chance to help the Yankees land Greinke, but there are obvious roadblocks standing in the way of that. For one, thanks in part to the 35-year-old Greinke’s terrific production, the Diamondbacks are hanging in the NL playoff race. Still, if the team attempts to trade Greinke, his contract and 15-team NTC would complicate matters. Greinke, signed through 2021, is still owed upward of $90MM (including deferrals). He’ll also count $34MM-plus per season against the luxury tax until his contract runs out. If the D-backs were to assume a large portion of Greinke’s remaining deal, maybe they and the Yankees could work something out. Greinke would still have to sign off on a trade to the Bronx after that. All things considered, a swap around Frazier and Greinke looks like a long shot, to say the least.
More starters than the above figure to be available around the deadline, but ideal matches look hard to find from the Yankees’ perspective. For instance, Texas lefty Mike Minor would give the Yankees what they want – an effective starter who’s not a rental – though he probably won’t wind up on the move with the Rangers in playoff contention. The same may apply to one of Greinke’s D-backs rotation mates, Robbie Ray.
On paper, Frazier looks like a strong candidate to join a new organization by the end of July. However, in trading Frazier, the Yankees would likely need to acquire someone who would provide a noticeable boost to their World Series chances. We’ll find out soon whether they’ll be able to pull off that difficult feat.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Domingo German Could Return Before All-Star Break
- Yankees righty Domingo German could rejoin their rotation before the All-Star break, manager Aaron Boone told reporters Friday (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). German has been out since June 9 with a left hip flexor strain. The 26-year-old struggled over a handful of starts leading up to his IL placement, though he still carries a respectable 3.86 ERA/4.05 FIP in 70 innings on the season.
Jordan Montgomery Shut Down For Two Weeks
- The Yankees have shut Jordan Montgomery down from throwing for two weeks, manager Aaron Boone told media (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch). The southpaw felt soreness while throwing a batting practice session as part of his rehab from Tommy John surgery in June 2018, and an MRI revealed inflammation in Montgomery’s throwing shoulder. Despite the setback, Boone didn’t close the door on Montgomery potentially being able to return to the Yankees at some point this season.
Yankees To Activate Aaron Judge On Friday
The Yankees will activate star outfielder Aaron Judge off the injured list on Friday, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reports (Twitter link). Judge has already joined the team in New York as the Yankees begin an important four-game series against Houston starting tonight.
The slugger has spent the last week playing in Triple-A rehab games, as Judge puts the final touches on his recovery from a left oblique strain. That injury sent Judge to the IL back on April 21, interrupting what had been a strong start (.288/.404/.521 and five homers over 89 PA) to the 2019 campaign for the former Rookie Of The Year.
Judge now rejoins a Yankees lineup that, incredibly, barely seemed to slow down despite the long-term absences of several notable starters — despite missing Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, Didi Gregorius for long stretches and losing Miguel Andujar to season-ending shoulder surgery, New York still ranks within the top ten in most team offensive categories. Between these returning star hitters and the newly-acquired Edwin Encarnacion, the Yankees now boast arguably the game’s most impressive lineup.
Cameron Maybin’s continued roster status could now be in question with Judge returning, unless the Yankees choose to option a reliever to Triple-A and keep both Maybin and Brett Gardner as backup outfielders. The latter option would allow the Yankees to perhaps spell Judge and Stanton in the later innings to keep them fresh as they return from their long IL absences, since DH duty isn’t as much of an option now with Encarnacion in the fold. Maybin is playing on a minor league contract this season, and was acquired from Cleveland in late April as a response to the Yankees’ injury-depleted outfield. Maybin, for his part, has hit very well since donning the pinstripes, taking a .307/.383/.491 slash line over 128 plate appearances into today’s action.
Hal Steinbrenner On Yankees’ Spending & Deadline Plans
At the recent owners’ meeting, Yankees boss Hal Steinbrenner chatted about the summer trade period, as David Lennon of Newsday was among those to report. Unsurprisingly, Steinbrenner made clear he expects starting pitching to be the focus for the Yanks now that slugger Edwin Encarnacion is in the fold. But his most interesting comments were related to the team’s financial approach.
Notably, the top organizational decisionmaker expressed some willingness to consider deals that’d put the team into a higher luxury tax bracket. Estimates put the Yanks at about $15MM of salary (as calculated for competitive balance tax purposes) shy of the $246MM payroll line, at which point a team would pay 62.5% tax on spending over the first luxury line and see its next top draft choice fall by ten spots.
Steinbrenner says he’d okay a decision that triggers those penalties, “if I really felt we needed that deal, that it takes us over the top.” That’s a bit of a different position than was enunciated recently by GM Brian Cashman, who indicated that the team wass “trying to stay under the second luxury tax penalty” when it capped its offer to free agent starter Dallas Keuchel.
That’s not to say that Steinbrenner necessarily expects to need to make such a call. He noted that the club has “a decent amount of cushion” before it’d reach the top tax bracket. That’s true, though there are certainly some high-end players who’d be of potential interest that would require the Yanks to do some soul-searching — or find creative means of shedding other salary.
If you don’t want to take on money, you typically have to give up good young talent. The Yankees’ current roster is loaded with bats, leading many to wonder whether outfielder Clint Frazier will be dangled. Steinbrenner said he believes Frazier has a “great career a head of him” and expects the youngster to be “a big part of this team going forward,” though he certainly also left conceptual room for a deal.
