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AL Notes: Yankees’ Rotation, Royals, Perez

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Some notes on the Yankees and Royals to kick off Sunday morning:

  • Jordan Montgomery is the “overwhelming favorite” for the fourth spot in the Yankees’ rotation, notes George King III of the New York Post. That’s not especially surprising, given that the lefty’s Tommy John procedure is now 21 months behind him. The 27-year-old’s strong 2017 rookie season positions him well to step up in the wake of injuries to Luis Severino and James Paxton. The final spot in the rotation is still entirely up for grabs, although King feels Jonathan Loaisiga is the early frontrunner. Surprisingly, King notes that right-hander Clarke Schmidt could be in the fifth starter mix after turning some heads early in spring training. The 24-year-old was the Yankees’ first-round pick out of the University of South Carolina in 2017, but he’s made all of three career starts above High-A, thanks largely to rehab from a Tommy John of his own. That, coupled with Schmidt’s roster status (he needn’t be added to the 40-man until after this season), would seem to make him a long shot for a season-opening role.
  • One pitcher who might not be as strong a contender for the Yankees’ final rotation spot is Luis Cessa, whom King says the club “seemingly likes…in the bullpen.” That jibes with a similar report from Bryan Hoch of MLB.com earlier this week, although Hoch’s report came before news broke of Severino’s season-ending Tommy John surgery. From the outside, it appeared that blow could have changed the calculus on Cessa’s potential usage, but it seems he’s still more likely to occupy a bullpen role in 2020. The 27-year-old has started 19 of his 86 career MLB appearances, but he was used exclusively as a reliever in 2019.
  • Salvador Pérez logged four innings behind the plate in the Royals’ spring training game Friday (h/t to the Associated Press). That marked his first catching action since his Tommy John surgery last March. “It was kind of like Opening Day — once you catch the first pitch, it’s a regular game,” Pérez said postgame, via the AP. “I blocked some balls, threw to second base between innings. It was all great.” At last check, the 29-year-old was on track to be ready for Opening Day. In 2018, Pérez hit just .235/.274/.439 (89 wRC+), but he’s long shouldered extremely high workloads behind the plate in Kansas City.

Details On Yankees’ Pursuit Of Robbie Ray

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7:35PM: The Yankees were willing to give up Clint Frazier and another prospect for Ray, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets, though talks fizzled out after the Diamondbacks requested more prospects.  As per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, the D’Backs wanted a four-prospect package that included Frazier and right-hander Clarke Schmidt, who was the 16th overall pick of the 2017 draft and rated by MLB Pipeline as the fifth-best prospect in New York’s system.

1:16PM: The Yankees’ talks with the Diamondbacks regarding left-hander Robbie Ray are “dead” for now, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. Ray’s name has become increasingly prevalent on the rumor mill in the past week, though there’s no firm indication that the club is sure to move him. Ray is controlled through the 2020 season via arbitration.

New York’s rotation hasn’t performed up to expectations in 2019, as Luis Severino hasn’t thrown a pitch. Lefties James Paxton and, in particular, J.A. Happ have struggled to uncharacteristically high ERAs, as has CC Sabathia, who is currently on the injured list. The Yankees have been connected to virtually every starting pitcher on the trade market, but to this point those negotiations have obviously yet to bear fruit.

Ray, 27, has a 3.91 ERA with 12.1 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 1.60 HR/9 and a 38.4 percent grounder rate in 2019. He averaged 12+ K/9 in both 2017 and 2018 with sub-4.00 ERAs, FIPs and xFIPs, cementing himself as one of the game’s premier strikeout pitchers along the way. He’s earning $6.05MM this season and will command one more arbitration raise this winter, possibly to the $10MM range, before becoming a free agent upon the conclusion of the 2020 season.

The Diamondbacks, with a .500 record, aren’t necessarily embarking on a full-scale tear down but are nevertheless listening with an open mind on some of their more desirable short-term assets.

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