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News & Notes: Gold glove finalists, Didi downplays potential return, Jasson Dominguez, Marcus Stroman

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On October 23, 2020

In News

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It’s been a pretty quiet week for the Yankees, but that’s to be expected. Teams aren’t supposed to make noise during the World Series, which is supposed to be front and center in the baseball world right now. Speaking of, the Rays and Dodgers are even at one a piece in the series ahead of tonight’s Game 3.

Even though the team has been quiet, there are a few things worth relaying on the Yankees’ front. Here’s the rundown:

Gio Urshela and Clint Frazier are Gold Glove Award finalists

Brett Gardner was the last Yankee to win a Gold Glove (2016). That brief drought could end this year if one of Gio Urshela and Clint Frazier beat out the other two finalists at their positions. The winners will be named on November 3rd.

It’s important to note that as a result of regionalized schedules this season, there is no voting on these awards in 2020. Rather, statistics alone will determine the winner. It’s not clear what those metrics used to decide are, though.

At third base, Urshela is up against Isiah Kiner-Falefa (Rangers) and Yoan Moncada (White Sox). Here’s a statistical comparison of the three:

PlayerDRSUZROAA
Urshela+6+5.4-1
Kiner-Falefa+8+1.1+4
Moncada-1+3.5+3

Only Kiner-Falefa ranks positively per Defensive Runs Saved, Ultimate Zone Rating, and Oats Above Average. I guess that makes him the favorite? I don’t know.

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End of season press conferences: Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman

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On October 14, 2020

In News

The Yankees’ manager and general manager spoke in today’s annual end of season press conference. Below are some of the highlights from this afternoon’s media briefing.

Aaron Boone

  • We’ve grown accustomed to learning about offseason surgeries scheduled in the last couple of season recap press conferences. Not this year, thankfully. The manager said that there are no surgeries needed, to his knowledge.
  • Boone noted that there are no coaching staff changes anticipated. That said, Marcus Thames’s name has come up as a managerial candidate for Detroit. That could force the team’s hand.
  • The manager reiterated how close this team is to winning a World Series. He said it a few times in this presser, in fact. Frankly, this wears a bit thin. He’s been at the helm of two ALDS knockouts and an ALCS elimination. I’m not so sure that qualifies as close. Plus, the Yankees would have fallen short of the postseason had MLB not expanded the playoffs this season.
  • Is there a starting catcher controversy next year? Boone noted that he still has plenty of confidence in Gary Sánchez and that he liked his at bats toward the end of the season. The skipper also noted that Kyle Higashioka’s performance was the driving factor in the postseason lineup cards, not Gary.
  • Gleyber Torres’s defense at shortstop was not great this season. According to Boone, it’s consistently making the routine play that will make him a better defender.
  • As you might expect, a number of questions were about Game 2 against the Rays. But how much of that was Boone’s say? The key quote, I think: “I think that room understands that I’m writing out the lineup and I’m making those decisions.”

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Yankees Release 28-Man ALDS Roster

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On October 5, 2020

In News

The Yankees released the 28-man roster for their ALDS series against the Rays just now. I went in-depth on the matchup earlier today, and Derek will have a series preview for the Rays a bit later on this afternoon. Stay tuned for that if you missed it.

Anyway, here is the roster in its entirety:

Position Players:

Mike Ford (INF), Clint Frazier (OF), Brett Gardner (OF), Aaron Hicks (OF), Kyle Higashioka (C), Aaron Judge (OF), DJ LeMahieu (INF), Gary Sánchez (C), Giancarlo Stanton (OF), Mike Tauchman (OF), Gleyber Torres (INF), Gio Urshela (INF), Luke Voit (INF), and Tyler Wade (INF).

Pitchers:

Zack Britton (LHP), Luis Cessa (RHP), Aroldis Chapman (LHP), Gerrit Cole (RHP), Deivi Garcia (RHP), Chad Green (RHP), J.A. Happ (LHP), Jonathan Holder (RHP), Michael King (RHP), Jonathan Loaisiga (RHP), Jordan Montgomery (LHP), Nick Nelson (RHP), Masahiro Tanaka (RHP), and Adam Ottavino (RHP).

Not many surprises here. Okay, that’s not entirely true. I am a bit surprised to see that Mike King made the cut. I was expecting Nelson to be dropped in favor of someone like Tyler Lyons, given the Rays lefty lineup. Instead, Nelson made the cut, the Yanks left Erik Kratz off, and they added King.

I know King was iffy this year but I think he makes sense. The Yankees were likely going to want a bulk reliever and they like King. I can see wanting Clarke Schmidt instead but honestly? It’s fine. King is probably more stretched out, and he has bullpen experience. Remember, this is the 27th spot on the roster – only Nelson is lower in the pecking order – and the odds King pitches are slim to none. It’s fine.

Here are some other interesting notes:

  • The Yanks are carrying 14 pitchers, which is a full 50% of the roster. It makes sense, given the lack of off-days. Let’s hope Gerrit Cole can give the Yanks length tonight.
  • We can say goodbye to the three catcher roster. It’s not a huge surprise, but they carried three catchers basically all year. (Houston is carrying three for their ALDS series, too.) I’m not sorry to see Kratz go though. He is basically a wasted spot.
  • Here is the Rays roster. They’re carrying 13 pitchers. The only big thing to note there is that Austin Meadows is back. He is probably limited, though.

The only big question left now is who is going to start Game 2 for the Yankees. We’ll find out in due time, obviously. Until then, I’m just excited for the game to start tonight. Is it 8 pm yet?

2020 Trade Deadline Thread

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On August 31, 2020

In News, Rumors, Trades

  • 4:00 p.m. EDT: Ding ding ding. Nothing for the Yankees today, unless we get a surprise late announcement like the Zack Greinke trade last year.
  • 3:40 p.m. EDT: Cashman has a few “narrowed-down” talks for relievers and position players. (Brendan Kuty)
  • 3:39 p.m. EDT: Boston makes a move. Kevin Pillar goes to the Rockies. (Mark Feinsand)
  • 3:34 p.m. EDT: Old friend alert. Milwaukee traded David Phelps to the Phillies. He reunites with another old friend, Joe Girardi. (Ken Rosenthal)
  • 3:19 p.m. EDT: The Yankees aren’t optimistic about getting a deal done, though they’ve been in touch on Gausman, Bundy, and Lynn. (Heyman)
  • 2:58 p.m. EDT: Another deal: Jonathan Villar from Miami to Toronto. (Ken Rosenthal)
  • 2:56 p.m. EDT: The Marlins are close to landing Marte. Take him off the Yankees’ wish list. (Craig Mish)
  • 2:22 p.m. EDT: The Diamondbacks appear likely to move OF Starling Marte for the best deal they can get by 4 p.m. The team does not intend to pick up his 2021 option, so a trade will have to do. (Joel Sherman)
  • 2:07 p.m. EDT: Texas “would love” to get Deivi García for Lynn. Duh. (T.R. Sullivan)
  • 1:52 p.m. EDT: The Blue Jays have acquired LHP Robbie Ray from Arizona. He’s been awful this year, but has been connected to the Yankees in the past. (Rob Longley)
  • 1:41 p.m. EDT: The Yankees have checked in on RHP Kevin Gausman. (Heyman)
  • 1:05 p.m. EDT: The Yankees have been in touch with the Rangers over the last 48 hours regarding Lynn. (Jon Morosi)
  • 12:40 p.m. EDT: The Rangers could be motivated to trade RHP Lance Lynn. The team may regret not dealing Minor last year, so they don’t want to make that mistake with Lynn while his value is high. (Joel Sherman)
  • 12:31 p.m. EDT: Another trade: LHP Mike Minor from the Rangers to the A’s for two players to be named later. Mark another pitcher off the board who could have fit the Yankees. (Jeff Passan)
  • 12:25 p.m. EDT: Radio silence in terms of Yankees-related rumors at this point. As per Martino’s report linked below, it sure seems possible that the Yankees don’t make any moves.
  • 11:15 a.m. EDT: Clevinger is off to San Diego. Cross one target off the Yankees’ list. (Robert Murray)
  • 10:25 a.m. EDT: The prices are too high for the Yankees at the moment. They’re not anywhere close on RHP Mike Clevinger or RHP Lance Lynn. It’s also not clear if San Francisco will move RHP Kevin Gausman. (Andy Martino)

T-minus six hours until the 4 p.m. EDT trade deadline. A number of trades went down yesterday — none of them involving the Yankees — and a few more are sure to occur today. We’ll update this post for any deals made and rumors involving the Yankees throughout the day. Here are the latest Yankees-related rumors:

  • The Yankees have talked to the Brewers about LHP Josh Hader, but there’s “no traction” there. They’ve also checked in on RHP Mike Clevinger. (Jon Heyman)
  • CF Starling Marte is on the Yankees’ radar. (Joel Sherman)
  • A deal for Marte could be expanded to include LHP Robbie Ray and/or RHP Archie Bradley. (Heyman)
  • The Yanks are reluctant to add any more salary via trade, which could make a Marte (or any other trade) complicated. (Ken Rosenthal)

To get you up to speed on official transactions, here are the moves from yesterday:

  • Boston traded 1B Mitch Moreland to San Diego for prospects 3B Hudson Potts and CF Jeisson Rosario.
  • Tampa Bay dealt DH José Martínez to the Cubs in exchange for a player to be named later or cash.
  • Baltimore sent RHP Mychal Givens to Colorado in return for minor leaguers 1B/3B Tyler Nevin, SS Terrin Vavra, and a player to be named later.
  • The Angels moved C Jason Castro to San Diego for RHP Gerardo Reyes.
  • Seattle swapped UTIL Austin Nola, RHP Austin Adams, and RHP Dan Altavilla to San Diego for IF Ty France, C Luis Torrens, RHP Andres Munoz, and top OF prospect Taylor Trammell.
  • Baltimore dealt LHP Tommy Milone to Atlanta for a player to be named later.

Injury Updates: Paxton, Torres, Avilán, and more

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On August 21, 2020

In News

No day is complete without some Yankees’ injury news. Not since last year, at least. The Yankees placed three more players on the injured list this afternoon: James Paxton (grade 1 flexor strain), Gleyber Torres (grade 1 quad and hamstring strains), and Luis Avilán (shoulder inflammation).

Nobody’s prognosis is available yet, but I wouldn’t count on seeing Paxton or Gleyber soon. Between a shut down, resuming throwing, and building back up, it could be a few weeks until Paxton’s back assuming he’s pain free. As for Torres, it could be somewhat tricky given he strained two different muscles. We’ll see. It’s been a rough few days for the Yankees, so I’ll concede some pessimism might be shining through.

There aren’t any corresponding roster moves yet since this weekend’s series against the Mets has been postponed. The Yankees next game is Tuesday in Atlanta (though a doubleheader against the Mets on Monday has been floated) and we should find out about the replacements by then. I’d guess we see a couple of more arms and another middle infielder, perhaps the recently added Jordy Mercer.

In other news, Aaron Boone provided updates on a few players who are working to turn:

  • The team expects Aaron Judge to return once the Yankees play next, whether that’s Monday or Tuesday (Kristie Ackert)
  • DJ LeMahieu took dry swings and played catch for the first time today (Ackert)
  • The team will have workouts tomorrow and Sunday to stay fresh (Brendan Kuty)
  • Zack Britton played catch and ran on the field today. Boone anticipates a short injured list stint (Kuty)

Try to have a good weekend, everyone.

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