New York Yankees 2018 Season Thread

[Déjà Bru]

Welcome to the New York Yankees 2018 Season Thread!

Things often look this rosy going into spring training and then grim reality sets in. But, as we saw last season, things often look like grim reality to start and then end up rosy! Or almost rosy. Like one game short.

Still, it is hard to find fault with the optimism voiced in this article. In February, that is.

[Caporegime]

I share the author's optimism, though cautiously....always cautiously. After all, this is baseball. The only sure thing is that there aren't any sure things.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Caporegime

I share the author's optimism, though cautiously....always cautiously. After all, this is baseball. The only sure thing is that there aren't any sure things.

Yes, I felt more comfortable last year at this time when expectations were low.

[Déjà Bru]

Goose Gossage has managed to get himself uninvited to Yankees spring training with his unending curmudgeonly comments. And it's not what he's been saying, but how he says it:

Goose Gossage unloads on Brian Cashman: ‘An embarrassment to the Yankees’
Hall of Famer reliever known for his outbursts rips Yankees general manager and his baseball knowledge

https://www.newsday.com/sports/baseb...ing-1.16726932

I looked him up just now; he's just a bit older than me. I view him as a reverse role model for how NOT to grow old gracefully.

You see, it's not that people like us are irrelevant, although some folks may view us as just that. It's more of a matter that our relevance is largely in the past and that life has changed and moved on.

That is not to say we don't have anything to teach younger folks. Far from it. But I have found that the best approach is to keep my opinions to myself until I am asked for them by somebody who has realized that I may just have something valuable to offer.

Above all, I would never act and sound like a clown the way this guy has. Read the article and see what I mean. Good riddance to Goose.

[actionjackson]

...

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by actionjackson

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Exactly. The pictures, not your ellipsis.

By the way, did anybody notice a bit of cognitive dissonance in my last post?

I said, "I have found that the best approach is to keep my opinions to myself" but that certainly does not apply to my participation in these forums!

Here, I am entitled to utterly bare my soul!

[Déjà Bru]

This should be interesting. The Yankees need second and third basemen and I hope they don't trade or sign anybody; I want the kids to get a chance.

The kids are Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar. Now, for some reason, the local media are focused on Torres and that, if the Yankees hold off bringing him up until mid-April, they gain an additional season of control over him. That is, he would not have the necessary 172 days of service time to start the arbitration and free agency clocks on him this season.

But the club needs starting infielders and if they don't trade for or sign somebody, then what happens until mid-April? Do they keep Torres down on the farm and play subs like Tyler Wade and Ronald Torreyes if Torres shows that he is ready in spring training?

Cashman says service time will not be a factor in their decision but the temptation must be strong; only a 16-day delay would do the trick. It could be an embarrassing situation if Torres has a great spring training like he did last year.

EDIT: Upon further reading the article which inspired this post, the writer brought up the precedent of how the Cubs handled Kris Bryant in 2015. A No. 1 prospect, Bryant blew away spring training but the Cubs sent him down to Triple-A anyway and he was not called up until mid-April. He finished with 171 days of service time, one day short to be credited for a full season. Agent Scott Boras filed a grievance and the implication in the article is that the Cubs had to scramble a bit to find an "excuse" for how they handled Bryant. The writer then said it would be easier for the Yankees to find such an excuse because Torres is coming back from Tommy John surgery and when he was injured, he had only 23 games of AAA experience. As I said, this should be interesting.

[Déjà Bru]

I like this trade for Brandon Drury. Yes, I said "I want the kids to get a chance" (Torres and Andujar) but three things:

• They WILL get a chance and if they both excel in the spring, they will be with the Yankees and getting playing time.
• Chances are, however, that one out of those two will not do as well and the club needs a starting second baseman and a starting third baseman.
• Drury himself is a kid, only 25, but with three years of MLB experience.

The people that they traded for Drury don't strike a bell. Good move.

[Caporegime]

Originally Posted by DéjÃ* Bru

I like this trade for Brandon Drury. Yes, I said "I want the kids to get a chance" (Torres and Andujar) but three things:

• They WILL get a chance and if they both excel in the spring, they will be with the Yankees and getting playing time.
• Chances are, however, that one out of those two will not do as well and the club needs a starting second baseman and a starting third baseman.
• Drury himself is a kid, only 25, but with three years of MLB experience.

The people that they traded for Drury don't strike a bell. Good move.

Would've preferred they re-sign Frazier, especially for the price the Mets snatched him up for. Yeah, there are holes in Frazier's game, most notably his tendency to whiff a metric ton. However, Drury strikes out a lot too, with an almost criminally low OBP to boot.

On the upside (as you mentioned), Drury is still only 25, so he may not have fully reached his developmental ceiling yet. In addition, he's a veritable doubles machine. He belted 37 in 446 ABs last year and 31 in 461 the year before. Not too shabby, although the Boogie Down Band Box isn't really a two-bagger valhalla. Hopefully, any decrease in his 2B totals that may occur will be offset by an increase in his HR output.

BTW, Nick Solak's numbers during his brief minor league career have been very impressive. in 705 ABs, he's sporting a .303 BA with an OBP of .393. He's also former 2nd round pick, which should indicate at the very least that Yankee scouts thought very highly of him. That said, he didn't make the Yankees top 10 list over at Baseball America.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/r...d=solak-000nic

The other kid in the deal, Taylor Widener, I never heard of. He averaged more than one K per 9 innings last year, but seemingly everyone and his mother does that these days in the minors.

[Déjà Bru]

Well, they would have had to give up something, of course, but I'll take the guy whose got three seasons of MLB experience and who has batted .271 with 31 HRs in those years over a guy who has not made it out of AA. Yet. Never can tell, of course; Solak could be a superstar. But the Yankees are right back in that familiar boat of having big expectations and pressure to win right now so Drury fits the scenario.

Besides, if you think of it, if you have Torres and Andujar waiting in the wings, and a young Didi on the rise, where is Solak going to play and when? Drury is insurance for 2018.

Widener notwithstanding in all of this; if you never heard of him, nobody has! (Watch him win Cy Young in 2022, though. )

[Caporegime]

Rumor has it the Yanks are considering a deal with Lance Lynn.

https://www.mlb.com/news/lance-lynn-...rs/c-266035174

I'd love to have him. Lynn would assuredly make a solid edition to the rotation and give it much needed depth. However, considering how determined Cashman is to keep the payroll under $197 million, I'd be surprised if they took the plunge. He'd have to really fall in their lap at a bargain rate, kinda like what Todd Frazier did with the Metsies (Frazier's intial market value was thought to be somewhere between $11-15 million per back in early December).

On the downside (If there actually is one), barring any injuries, signing Lynn would reduce the chances of either Chance Adams or Justus Sheffield to near zero of cracking the rotation with a strong spring. By extension, it would also mean Jordan Montgomery, a kid would genuinely earned his spot in the rotation last season and who is deserving of at least strong consideration for one again this spring, would either be banished to the ass end of the bullpen or AAA, neither of which he deserves.

[Déjà Bru]

I agree with you and Cashman in getting another starter. First of all, I don't agree with this being "a rotation that already should stack up as one of the best in the American League."

For one thing, Sabathia is 37 and just because he looked better last year does not mean he will be good this year. They say he's lost weight (again) and that should help, look for him to balloon up (again) during the season.

For another thing, who is the real Tanaka? He's looked inconsistent enough to cast doubts on his future performance.

Lastly, there are always injuries. If nothing else, the kids will get their shot that way.

So if the Yankees can land Lynn, I'm all for it.

On another note, can you guys read this? (Click to enlarge. Linking to Newsday online is a hassle. Just finding articles on their website is a chore.) It's the beginning of my rooting for another quality person in Yankee baseball. Read between the lines.

[Déjà Bru]

Heh, Miguel Andujar (.428, 4HRs) is making Brandon Drury nervous about the starting 3B job. That's how it works!

[actionjackson]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Heh, Miguel Andujar (.428, 4HRs) is making Brandon Drury nervous about the starting 3B job. That's how it works!

Just a warning for you. It is Spring Training baseball. Gabe Gross hit .392 with 8 HR and 19 RBI in 2004 or 2005 for the Blue Jays. Who? Exactly.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by actionjackson

Just a warning for you. It is Spring Training baseball. Gabe Gross hit .392 with 8 HR and 19 RBI in 2004 or 2005 for the Blue Jays. Who? Exactly.

True. But if one keeps that firmly in mind, the speculation and wonder can be fun. Witness the fact that George M. Steinbrenner Field is regularly sold out these days.

[Déjà Bru]

Apologies, but here is my "cranky guy" coming out again. Please bear with me a bit.

What in the heck is Russell Wilson doing in the Yankees' spring training camp? The terms "slumming" and "moonlighting" are used but what is the point from either his or the team's perspective as to why he is here?

He is in the middle of a four-year, $87.6 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks and obviously he will not be walking away from that for a love of baseball and obviously he cannot be both a professional football and baseball player at the same time. Or can he?

It's not a lark for him. Wilson was drafted in the 4th round in 2010 by the Rockies and he has played in A ball for two years. In recent years, he went to spring training with the Rangers. This at least demonstrates his bona fides for a lasting interest in baseball.

But what about the Yankees? What is the point of trading for a guy going on 30 who has never played above class A (but assigning him to Double A anyway) and bring him to camp when he doesn't have a chance of making the club? Even if he did, how do they handle September games when both the Yankees and Seahawks are playing?

This looks like a stupid publicity stunt. Or perhaps at best a setup to have a winner's attitude rub off on young guys. Even so, his one AB so far, in which he struck out against Max Fried of the Braves, is one less AB for somebody who could actually help the Yankees in 2018.

[Déjà Bru]

Here's another rant, while I'm on a roll. Jacoby Ellsbury is already injured, having suffered a "mild oblique strain" . . . during batting practice. That's right, folks, just swing a bat in early March.

If somebody were to pay you $21 million a year to play a game, wouldn't you think it would be a good idea to stay in shape over the winter? Even to just swing a bat regularly so as to not become rusty and strain yourself in spring training?

What a goddamned waste of money this guy has been. Headline in point:

New York Yankees Jacoby Ellsbury is exhibit A of why free agency changed
The Yankees likely regret signing Jacoby Ellsbury to a long-term deal. And this year’s free agency shows that almost every team in baseball has finally learned the lesson of Ellsbury and others.

https://calltothepen.com/2018/03/02/...xhibit-change/

[Déjà Bru]

If you get a chance, read this interview with Hal Steinbrenner. (I usually don't like to link to Newsday articles since I think they restrict access by non-subscribers and their website has been funky in the past.)

I remember after the old man died, rooting for the family to sell the team. Don't forget that the other brother Hank was still involved and goofing things up. Then this guy Hal quietly took over and now I'm kind of glad that he did.

A Q&A with Hal Steinbrenner, Yankees managing general partner

[Déjà Bru]

Darn, now I feel like a heel for what I said about Wilson in training camp after listening to the YES announcers. "Great guy, good for the young players, lots of class, everybody liked him," etc. He gave all the players autographed footballs on his last day in camp, yesterday. I still don't know why the Yankees would bother but that just means I'm a grump, I guess.

I'm not taking back what I said about Ellsbury, though.

[Déjà Bru]

I'm rooting for the Florida Marlins this year. Reasons:

• They're safe. National League.
• Derek Jeter the man and the challenges that he faces.
• Don Mattingly the player whom I fondly remember. (Not necessarily the manager.)
• Starlin Castro. Can you imagine how he feels? Just on the doorstep of seemingly inevitable success in New York one day, and a member of the Florida Marlins the next. You can tell from some things that he has said that he is not happy but he is taking it like the good guy that he reportedly is and I wish him well.
• Everybody loves an underdog, yes? What a bunch of young unknowns!
• I bought the entire MLB.tv package this year for the first time and I want to get my money's worth!