New York Yankees 3B coach Phil Nevin, 1B coach Reggie Willits positive for COVID-19

New York Yankees third-base coach Phil Nevin and first-base coach Reggie Willits have tested positive for the coronavirus, the team said Tuesday.

Nevin’s status was announced before Tuesday night’s road game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Willits’ positive case and that of a staff member were confirmed after the Yankees’ 3-1 win. Manager Aaron Boone also said the team is waiting for more results.

Two additional cases are considered inconclusive but are expected to be ruled as positives, a source told ESPN, which would bring to five the number of coaches and support staff members who are positive. ESPN earlier reported that there were five positive cases among the coaching staff.

“We’re doing all we can to stay healthy. A little bit of a skeleton staff but nothing we can’t handle,” Boone said before Tuesday’s game.

A team spokesman said Nevin, Willits and the staff member are fully vaccinated.

Astros complain to MLB about taunting, Yankees security bans Oscar the Grouch costume, report says

Sports Illustrated reports the Houston Astros complained to Major League Baseball about taunting by fans this season. This report comes at a time when New York Yankees fans are absolutely crushing the Astros at Yankee Stadium….

But according to SI, one Yankees fan, David Taub, went too far after spending $85 on an Oscar the Grouch costume. Oscar, the lovable, grumpy Sesame Street character, lives in a trash can. You can see where Taub was going with this.

When he arrived wearing the costume and carrying a sign reading YOU AIN’T STEALING THIS COSTUME TRASHTROS, he drew laughs and cameras. Unfortunately, he also drew attention from security. “Our policy changed,” he said the guard told him. Taub said the guard added that the Astros had complained to MLB about fans in other cities, and MLB had told the Yankees to tighten their rules. (Officials from the Astros and the commissioner’s office said they were unaware of any such complaints or directives.) So Taub climbed a hill across the street from the ballpark, balled the costume up and buried it amid a cluster of rocks. He flipped the sign over and scrawled MY FRIEND HAD A SIGN LIKE THIS BUT THE TRASHTROS STOLE IT.

San Francisco Giants acquire OF Mike Tauchman in trade with New York Yankees

The San Francisco Giants acquired outfielder Mike Tauchman from the New York Yankees on Tuesday for left-handed reliever Wandy Peralta and a player to be named later.

The 30-year-old Tauchman, a veteran of five major league seasons, had a breakout year for the Yankees in 2019 when he set career bests with a .277 average, 13 home runs and 47 RBIs. But he hasn’t been able to replicate those stats since, slashing .242/.342/.305 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and .214/.267/.286 in 16 plate appearances this season. He hasn’t hit a home run since the 2019 season.

With Clint Frazier and Brett Gardner splitting time in left field, there was little opportunity for Tauchman to find a spot in the Yankees’ lineup.

Last-place New York Yankees off to worst 15-game start since 1997

Gerrit Cole shook his head, disgusted. Aaron Hicks put hands on hips and bowed his head. By the end of the afternoon, pretty much all of the New York Yankees were appalled, along with their loudly booing fans.

Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a tiebreaking double off Cole in the seventh inning that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 win on Sunday and a three-game sweep that extended the Yankees’ losing streak to five games. New York fell to an American League-worst 5-10, its poorest start since 1997.

“I’m frustrated, personally frustrated,” said reigning AL batting champion DJ LeMahieu, who concluded the Yankees were “tight and pressing.”

“No one’s going to feel sorry for us,” he said. “No one’s going to throw softer or throw easier for us. We’ve got to find it within ourselves to continue to get better and play the way we’re capable of.”

New York Yankees’ Jay Bruce to retire after Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays

Jay Bruce had seen enough. Having made the New York Yankees’ Opening Day roster, he couldn’t stomach his poor start to the season.

So the three-time All-Star outfielder decided to retire at age 34 after Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay.

“Just the consistent underperformance for me,” he said. “Felt like I wasn’t able to do it at a level that was acceptable for myself.”

Bruce informed Yankees manager Aaron Boone of his decision during a 20-minute meeting in the manager’s office on Friday, then made a public announcement before Sunday’s game.

Bruce went to spring training with the Yankees on a minor league contract and made the major league roster as a first baseman when Luke Voit suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee, earning a $1.35 million one-year deal.

He is hitting .118 with one homer and three RBIs in 39 plate appearances, and he remained active for Sunday’s game. He started the first eight games at first base but just two of the next seven.

‘Bust’ reality staring down Yankees in unnerving scenario

“The Yankees are sort of at a point like we had, you realize you have to break through,” said John Hart, the general manager of those Cleveland squads.

Over the past four years the Yankees have averaged a major-league best at nearly 5 1/2 runs per game. They have made the playoffs in each of those seasons, getting eliminated twice by the eventual champion and twice by the World Series loser. But the Yanks remain without a title since 2009 and by Bronx math that is an eternity.

There are two ways that this can go for the Yankees, circa now. They can follow the past two champs — the Nationals and Dodgers — who went through years of being viewed as October dogs. Sometimes you have to kick and kick at the door before it bursts open. The Dodgers, the other coastal superpower, won eight straight NL West titles and not until the eighth did they finally capture their first title since 1988 — or in Los Angeles math an eternity-plus.

Or the Yanks can be those Cleveland teams, so powerful that annually they believed this was the season.

“Every year after ‘94 we felt we had a team that could win it all, absolutely,” Hart said.

Yankee Stadium, Citi Field will open at 20 percent capacity to begin 2021 season

The Yankees are “hopeful that testing requirements can be eased by mid-May 2021” and plan to continue to use Yankee Stadium as a COVID-19 vaccination site during the regular season. Citi Field is also currently being used as a COVID-19 vaccination site.

Fans will have to adhere to these guidelines in order to attend games at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field:

Take a COVID-19 test with negative results or provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccination
Each fan will be required to have their temperature checked upon entry
All fans two years and older must wear a face mask, even if they received a COVID-19 vaccine
Seating will be in pods that will range from 1-8 guests to encourage social distancing (pods will be 1-6 fans at Citi Field)

In an effort to be contactless, all tickets for games at both stadiums are going to be mobile. In addition, all concession and retail sales at the stadiums will be cashless and fans will have to use credit or debit cards for purchases.

Yankees reliever Zack Britton to undergo elbow surgery and likely will miss start of 2021 MLB season

New York Yankees reliever Zack Britton will likely miss the start of the 2021 MLB season because of an elbow issue. Britton, who underwent an MRI on Monday, first experienced the sensation after a weekend bullpen session. The Yankees announced Tuesday that Britton is expected to return to New York on Wednesday to have arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone chip from his left elbow.

The team has said there’s no known timetable for his return. With Opening Day just over three weeks away, it seems very likely he opens the season on the injured list.

Britton hadn’t yet made an appearance this spring, as he’s instead had to make up for time lost during the offseason. Britton endured a bout with COVID-19 in January that set him back.

Yankees should be nearing their Domingo German breaking point

Imagine you’re Aaron Boone, or Brian Cashman, or Hal Steinbrenner.

It’s Wednesday night and you’re getting ready for the annual holiday that is the first pitchers and catchers workouts the next morning. You’ve got scores of COVID-specific details to handle plus the standard desire to launch your desired championship run with the right first step.

Then you get alerted that Domingo German, already on thin ice, has set Instagram aflame again.

At what point do you decide the right-hander’s upside doesn’t merit the agita he creates? The Yankees should be approaching that point. They must, for the good of everyone else they employ.

After all, when your team’s player representative, Zack Britton, one of the more affable humans to ever roam the Earth, proclaims, “Sometimes you don’t get to control who your teammates are and that’s the situation,” as he did Thursday about his fellow pitcher, that speaks volumes about German’s status here.

Yankees and Brett Gardner agree to one-year deal with options for 2022

Sources tell SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino that the Yankees and Gardner have reached a deal on a one-year contract worth $4 million with club and team options for 2022.

Martino notes that setting up the contract as a one-year deal with an option actually lowers the luxury tax number for the Yankees, which made it preferable to a straight one-year deal.

A 13-year veteran, Gardner reached free agency last offseason before ultimately signing back with the Yankees on a one-year deal worth $12.5 million.

And even if Clint Frazier is the Bombers’ everyday left fielder as Aaron Boone recently stated, having Gardner would give the Yankees a great insurance policy and fourth outfielder, along with a needed left-handed bat. Having both Gardner and Mike Tauchman could give the Yankees a lot of flexibility with their outfield depth.

Source: New York Yankees agree to deal with LHP Justin Wilson

Left-hander Justin Wilson returned to the New York Yankees after two seasons with the Mets, agreeing Monday to a deal, a source confirmed to ESPN.

Wilson joins a bullpen headed by closer Aroldis Chapman and Zack Britton, both left-handers. Hard-throwing right-hander Chad Green is joined by side-arming right-hander Darren O’Day, who was signed after the Yankees dealt Adam Ottovino to Boston in a cost-cutting move.

The 33-year-old Wilson was 5-0 with a 3.10 ERA in 74 appearances for the Yankees in 2015, then moved on to Detroit and the Chicago Cubs before spending 2019 and 2020 with the Mets.

Yankees sign Darren O’Day to bolster bullpen after Adam Ottavino trade

The Post’s Ken Davidoff confirmed that the Yankees agreed to a deal with side-arm throwing righty Darren O’Day on Wednesday.

O’Day, 38, spent most of his career with the Orioles, with whom he was an All-Star in 2015, but played the past two seasons with the Braves. O’Day pitched to a 1.10 ERA in 19 appearances and 16 1/3 innings for Atlanta last season.

O’Day guaranteed to make $2.5M for 1 year (and there is the dual option)

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 27, 2021

Yankees trade Ottavino to Red Sox

In a deal between rivals, the Yankees traded Adam Ottavino to the Red Sox, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand on Monday. New York’s return in the deal was not immediately known. The clubs have not confirmed the deal, which was first reported by The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler.

Ottavino, a 10-year MLB veteran, has a 3.53 career ERA but scuffled last season, posting a 5.89 mark in 18 1/3 innings with New York.

THE CURSE OF OTTAVINO!

Sources: New York Yankees acquire pitcher Jameson Taillon from Pittsburgh Pirates for four prospects

The New York Yankees have added another bounce-back candidate to their starting rotation, acquiring Jameson Taillon from the Pittsburgh Pirates for four minor-league prospects, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan and multiple reports.

Pittsburgh will receive pitchers Miguel Yajure and Roansy Contreras, infielder Maikol Escotto and outfielder Canaan Smith in the trade, sources tell Passan.

Reds wanted Gleyber Torres from Yankees in rumored Luis Castillo deal

No wonder the rumored Luis Castillo trade to the Yankees isn’t happening.

In exchange for Castillo, the Reds asked for Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres and more, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported on Monday.

The internet was abuzz over the weekend with erroneous reports of a trade involving Castillo, the Reds’ star pitcher, going to the Yankees for Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar. But Reds general manager Nick Krall strongly denied the reports, even addressing them publicly.

“[The rumors] are completely false,” Krall wrote in a text to MLB.com. “We intend to have [Castillo] as a member of our rotation for 2021.”

Yankees sign pitcher Corey Kluber, two-time Cy Young Award winner

Just hours after bringing back The Machine, the Yankees acquired a Klubot.

An incredibly busy 24-hour span for the Yankees — arguably busier than the previous 96 days of their offseason combined — concluded when they signed two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber to a one-year, $11 million contract, an industry source confirmed. “Talkin’ Jake” from Jomboy Media first reported the agreement.

Combined with the re-signing of top priority DJ “The Machine” LeMahieu to a six-year, $90-million pact and avoiding arbitration with eight players, the Yankees provided a great deal more clarity to both their roster and their payroll. If they are resolute on not exceeding the $210 million luxury-tax threshold, then they are rapidly approaching that limit — with the structure and luxury-tax implications of the Kluber deal not yet clear — unless they trade veterans to create more space.

New York Yankees, DJ LeMahieu finalizing six-year, $90M contract, sources say

Second baseman DJ LeMahieu and the New York Yankees are finalizing a six-year, $90 million contract, sources familiar with the agreement told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

LeMahieu finished third in the American League MVP voting after winning the AL batting title with an MLB-leading .364 average over the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, becoming just the fourth player in Yankees history to lead the majors in that category, along with Mickey Mantle (.353 in 1956), Joe DiMaggio (.381 in 1939) and Lou Gehrig (.363 in 1934).

It was the second career batting title for the 32-year-old LeMahieu, who won the National League crown with a .348 batting average for the Colorado Rockies in 2016. He joined Hall of Famer Ed Delahanty (1899, 1902) as the only players to win batting titles in both leagues.

DJ LeMahieu engaging other teams in free agency with Yankees slow to meet his price

A two-time batting champ and the New York Yankees’ best player for two seasons running, LeMahieu, according to a source close to his family, has become dismayed by the slow-play tactics of the Yankees, along with other clubs. Teams that have engaged with the LeMahieu camp say LeMahieu expects more than Josh Donaldson’s four-year, $92 million deal with the Minnesota Twins and at least on par with J.D. Martinez’s five years and $110 million with the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees, LeMahieu’s preferred club after two successful seasons in the Bronx, have not met those terms.

The 32-year-old LeMahieu has, therefore, asked his representatives to re-engage with teams that have previously shown the most interest, the source said, among them the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets, and to reconnect with teams that reached out early in the free agent period, including the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox and others.

LeMahieu expects to meet virtually with several teams this week, according to the source, that are seeking to fill holes at second or third base.

Yankees trade for speedy outfielder Greg Allen in deal with Padres

The Yankees added some outfield depth by trading for outfielder Greg Allen, a source confirmed.

The speedy Allen, a switch-hitter, was designated for assignment by the Padres earlier in the week. The Yankees sent 27-year-old left-hander James Reeves to San Diego in the deal.

Reeves, a 10th-round pick by the Yankees in 2015, reached Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2018.

Allen, also 27, was DFA’d by the Padres to make room on their 40-man roster for Ha-Seong Kim, an infielder from South Korea signed by the Padres.

‘I didn’t know why I wasn’t playing’: Gary Sanchez on getting benched in the playoffs

There is some vitriol in social media among Yankees fans and even members of the media that you are a “lazy” player. What do you say to that?

I simply do not understand. I am always working hard. Yankees fans are great, but at the same time, they are very demanding. If you’re hitting well, fans love you, they do whatever it takes for you. But when you are not doing well, then it starts ... and you know. They will yell anything at you. Sometimes it can be difficult not to have a little encouragement. But those are Yankees fans, and the only thing that matters are results. And I would not have it any other way. I love the high expectations. I can be booed one day when I have a bad game, and the next day I am the hero of the game. But I think sometimes people do not understand that baseball is a game where you are going to fail many more times than you are going to succeed. I just don’t understand that criticism. The results were not there; that is true. But it was never due to lack of work.

Yankees, DJ LeMahieu are more than $25 million apart, agreement not quite imminent

As of Saturday night, the gulf between the Yankees and free agent second baseman DJ LeMahieu was wider than $25 million, a person with knowledge of the situation told NJ Advance Media. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

A report that circulated Friday night pegged the sides off by $25 million. The report said the Yankees wanted LeMahieu at four years and $75 million while LeMahieu wants five years and $100 million.

“The years are right,” the person said. “The money is wrong.”

Staten Island Yankees cease operations, sue New York Yankees, MLB

“The New York Yankees announced on November 7, 2020 that the Staten Island Yankees were no longer part of the Yankees minor league affiliation structure, even though the Yankees had made repeated assurances we would always be a minor league partner.

“Although we still have not heard this from the Yankees directly, it would appear from their press release that they would like us to go from the past arrangement in which the Staten Island Yankees were an affiliated minor league team of the New York Yankees — where we facilitated player development and brand exposure, among other benefits to the New York Yankees — to one in which we play unaffiliated baseball with no relationship to the Yankees whatsoever.

This would force Staten Island to field a subpar team with players that have no connection to the Yankees farm system. Additionally, this would require additional expenses including payroll for players, coaches and staff. Unfortunately, that additional expense and the loss of the connection to the Yankees in our shared city makes it impossible for the Staten Island Yankees to pursue this business model.

MLB During COVID-19 Behind The Scenes

Before the 2020 season began, New York Yankees reliever Adam Ottavino decided to document what was sure to be one of the most unusual years in MLB history.

Armed with a Leica M240, a trio of lenses and an iPhone, he snapped photos of his teammates and their often surreal surroundings, keeping an eye out for moments that highlighted the quirks, oddities and absurdities of playing professional baseball in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic.

Personally I thought this was really cool stuff.

Jim Kaat: Will we finally get The Real Deal?

Kaat Said: Orientalism.

A couple of short stories about Asian pitchers and Irabu: I was announcing Yankee games in the mid-90s when I said over the air, “I wonder if we’ll ever see an Oriental position player in the Major Leagues?” Dion James was playing for the Yankees at the time, and told me about an exciting 19-year old named Ichiro Suzuki who had a chance to be the first. We all know that story. Big fan of Bernie Williams from watching Yankee games in Japan. Wears number 51 because of that.

So, I get a letter about a week later from an Asian baseball fan. Not a malicious letter but scolding me gently for referring to Asian players as “Oriental.” He said, “Noodles and rugs are Oriental, not people. We are Asians.” Fortunately for me, he put his phone number in the letter, so I called him.

We had a pleasant conversation and I told him I certainly didn’t intentionally say “Oriental’ as a slur or condescending remark. It was said innocently out of ignorance. He understood. I asked him if he would be watching the next game we televised. He said he would. He was a huge baseball fan and was complimentary of our telecasts on the MSG Network. I asked if he would please watch and listen in the top of the 4th inning. He said he would.  I took the opportunity to clear up the Oriental/Asian situation.

...So, I’lll be keeping a close eye on Yu Darvish and see if he is finally the one to be able to challenge and dominate our bigger, more powerful big league hitters. For his and the Rangers’ sake, I hope he does. It will be good for the game and the Rangers profit and loss statement!

Bronx Banter: DeRosa: Leave the Gun. Take the Cannoli.

Oh, my good goodness gracious! Of all the dramatic things I’ve ever seen. Clemenza standing right in…the way of a Montero/Pineda thought!

So when I heard Jesus Montero was traded for Michael Pineda, I felt like we were trading a neck for a necktie. Sure, the tie is important, but without the neck, what’s the point?

Even without the catching, I’ll take Montero’s simple, solid bat over the complex musculature of Pineda’s throwing arm. You can watch Montero hit every game, all season long. There’s no better way to interface with a team than through a star hitter, especially for a young fan, because he’s always in the lineup.

I understand that having Pineda in the rotation probably makes the 2012 Yankees a better team than they would have been with Montero as the DH. But in 2013? And 2014?

Arod and Teixeira are already fractions of what they once were and they will be declining in the lineup for years to come. The Yankees have one big hitter in his prime, Cano, who is fierce but not flawless. You don’t have to squint too hard to see a Yankee team desperate for hitting.

The more I think about the trade, the more comfortable I am with Cashman’s logic and his vision. But I am firmly on the Montero side of the debate. It boils down to this: if they both become stars, I’d want Montero to be a Yankee.