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.

Mets, Yankees Have Shown Interest In Yadier Molina

oth the Mets and Yankees have reached out to Yadier Molina’s camp to express interest in the veteran catcher, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). The Cardinals icon has also heard from at least three others, per Heyman.

It’s not surprising that either New York club would at least explore the possibility of bringing the 38-year-old Molina into the fold. As noted here at MLBTR last week, signing Molina would be a major narrative shift in the Bronx, where Gary Sanchez’s defensive struggles and prolific strikeout rates have drawn the ire of many fans. Molina, of course, is a generational defender at his position and still possesses some of the best bat-to-ball skills in baseball (13.5 percent strikeout rate in 2020).

As for the Mets, they’ve been oft-connected to J.T. Realmuto since it became clear that Steve Cohen would purchase the club from the Wilpon family. Wilson Ramos is a free agent, leaving Tomas Nido atop the team’s depth chart behind the dish. For a club with immediate postseason aspirations under new ownership, that doesn’t cut it. Molina would be a more affordable option than Realmuto, leaving more resource available to pursue other top free agents and trade targets (e.g. George Springer, Trevor Bauer, Francisco Lindor). Outgoing White Sox catcher James McCann stands out as a younger alternative as well.

Agent Melvin Roman told Heyman a couple weeks back that he’s seeking a two-year deal for Molina, and Roman told MLB.com’s Jon Morosi last week that they’ve heard from at least three clubs beyond the Cardinals.

Brian Cashman says Yankees must reevaulate at catcher after Gary Sanchez’s struggles, Kyle Higashioka’s breakout 2020 season

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday via Zoom, GM Brian Cashman was very frank in his answer about his catchers and what to expect heading into next season.

“I think it’s certainly a fair question obviously the way Gary Sanchez’ season transpired, and then the way it ended with Higashioka actually starting in the postseason as many games as he did,” he said. “I think it’s one of the discussion points we’re going to have to focus on.”

Sanchez truly labored this season right from the start going 0-for-15 in the five July games the Yankees played. He, then, posted a .155 average in August and .171 in Sept. and Oct. to bring it to .147 on the season.

“It was a struggle for him the first month of the season, just timing was off, chasing a lot, leaving the zone,” manager Aaron Boone said.

Boone added, though, that “it didn’t necessarily show up in the numbers” where Sanchez improved in front of his coaches. The Yankees believed he was putting together better at-bats and just not having luck on his side.

Yankees try to make sense of another season that ends with crushing postseason loss

In the end, the Yankees were hurt by a lack of starting pitching depth with Luis Severino missing the year after Tommy John surgery. James Paxton was shut down in August with a flexor tendon strain. Domingo German spent the season serving a suspension under the league’s joint domestic violence policy.

Voit led the majors with home runs in the weird 60-game season and DJ LeMahieu, who is a free agent and should be a priority to re-sign, won the batting title. Judge and Giancarlo Stanton missed half the season with injuries. And on Friday, their bats went quiet. Judge’s home run was the Yankees’ only offense.

But Stanton was not ready to look at 2020 and diagnose the issues, nor was he ready to describe what the Yankees need to get over the hump.

“We have the talent to do it. I mean, I’m not gonna pick apart changes. We have the talent to do it,” Stanton said. “It’s just a matter of you haven’t got it done. And that’s, that.”

Sorry, But The Yankees Are The Good Guys

It may be difficult to stomach, but at least philosophically and perhaps ethically, the New York Yankees should be the neutral fan’s heroes in their ALDS series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Yeah, sorry, but it’s true! Though it might be traditional to look at the younger team who’s never won a title as the scrappy underdogs and, though it might feel really, really good to despise the institution that is the New York Yankees with all their history, arrogance, and opulence, the reality of this series is that one team is trying its damnedest to win a frickin’ world championship and the other has tried to optimize the work of building a roster so much that the idea of “entertainment” feels like a tertiary concern at best.

While nearly every team in baseball, including Tampa’s ownership group, has avoided lavish free-agency spending and instead tried to either tank or field a team that’s just good enough to make the playoffs and potentially luck into a deep run, the Yankees are still the stereotypical Evil Empire of old. Only nowadays, with the way that the sport’s ultra-rich have worked to break baseball’s economic logic, bucking the trend by having the highest payroll in the game feels more like a virtue than a sin.

There was no easier way to contrast the two rivals, and their $81 million difference in team salaries this year (or $172 million if the season hadn’t been prorated), than the pitching match-up on Monday night, in a game the Yanks won 9-3. The slightly better performance on the mound came from last winter’s premier free agent, Gerrit Cole, whom the Yankees signed for an all-time-high of nine years and $324 million, or $80 million more than any other team committed to a free agent in the offseason.

The Yankees Win an Epic That Shows the Flaws in Our Obsession With Bad Managing

On Wednesday night—or early Thursday morning, in the Eastern time zone—the Yankees topped Cleveland 10-9 in the longest nine-inning game in MLB history, a back-and-forth, four-hour-and-50-minute epic whose ending was further deferred by multiple rain delays. New York’s victory, which followed the team’s Tuesday trouncing of Cy Young favorite Shane Bieber, knocked Cleveland out of the postseason and set up the Yankees for an ALDS matchup with the division-rival Rays. The best-of-three series was a battle between stylistic opposites, pitting a Cleveland club that allowed the fewest runs in the majors against a Yankees squad that scored the most runs in the American League. In this case, offensive firepower won, contradicting the dubious saying about the fate of good hitting against good pitching.

The decisive game featured four erased deficits and at least as many divisive managerial moves, a few of which caused rage-tweeting fans to demand the dismissals of skippers Aaron Boone and Sandy Alomar Jr. (who’s acting in place of the sidelined Terry Francona). Some of the duo’s most-maligned decisions were defensible; at certain times, tactical miscues worked out well, while in other situations seemingly smart moves backfired. In the final accounting, the outcome came down not to the former playoff heroes at the helms of the two teams, but to the actions of active athletes: the unsurprising stars (DJ LeMahieu, José Ramírez, Gio Urshela), unexpected standouts (Jordan Luplow, Gary Sánchez), and unlikely goats (James Karinchak, Brad Hand) who drove in or gave up the runs. Although the playoffs place managers under the microscope, the Yankees’ hard-earned win was a reminder that middle-aged men in the dugout usually don’t deserve the bulk of the blame or the credit for which way a game goes. Consider this a postseason PSA: Players matter much more than managers.

Clint Frazier’s Patience Pays Off For the Yankees

As you can see, Frazier spread his hits around the field. Though his pull percentage through Wednesday (42.0%) is close to his career mark (40.3%), he’s doing a better job of taking advantage of Yankee Stadium’s short right field porch than ever. Three of this year’s seven homers have come that way, though all of them had estimated distances of at least 374 feet. He’s as likely if not more so to go deep to his pull side; three of this year’s homers have gone to left or left center in the Bronx, and from among his 23 career homers, the balance is 12 to the pull side and seven to the opposite side.

And lest you worry too much that Frazier is merely loading up in garbage time — as was admittedly the case on Tuesday given the double-digit margins visible in those clips — it’s worth noting that through Wednesday he ranked fourth on the team in WPA (0.65, behind Giovanny Urshela’s 1.63, Judge’s 0.90, and LeMahieu’s 0.78) while being tied for seventh in plate appearances (121) and hitting .303/.422/.596 for a 174 wRC+. He was 31 PA short of qualifying for the official leaderboards, but among AL players with at least 120 PA, his on-base percentage ranked second, his wRC+ fourth, and his slugging percentage eighth.

That’s been a huge boon to the Yankees in a season where Judge has served two stints on the injured list — separated by a one-game return — due to a right calf strain, and Stanton spent 37 days on the IL due to a left hamstring strain

Subscriber Exclusive Somerset Patriots in, Trenton Thunder out? Yankees considering Class AA affiliation change

...the Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic League could become a Yankees farm club.  If that occurs, the Thunder could be squeezed out, too.  Minor-league officials spoke to NJ Advance Media about the possible changes, and requested anonymity because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly about the plans. 
“The Yankees aren’t going to have two minor-league teams in New Jersey,” a Thunder official told NJ Advance Media…

Unpacking the Yankees’ Three Week Nosedive

The Yankees are in a terrible stretch of baseball, and having such a stretch in a season that’s only 60 games long has probably cost them the division. It probably won’t keep costing them in terms of a playoff berth, but this bad stretch has been a total team effort. Their ace isn’t pitching like one. The team’s three best hitters are missing from the lineup, while others have struggled to step up. The best arms in their bullpen aren’t getting results commensurate with their talent or careers to date. All of that has come together for a very bad three weeks. The team can’t afford to have another three weeks like their last three, but we can probably expect the performance to tick up, particularly in the lineup and the bullpen. The Yankees only have to go .500 the rest of the way to make the playoffs, and then hope they’re healthy once they’re there.

Rays-Yanks rivalry boils over: ‘It’s a tired act’

Following the game, Cash and the Rays players said they were unsure of the intent behind Chapman’s pitch, but that didn’t stop Cash from delivering some strong comments.

“It’s poor judgement, poor coaching, it’s just poor teaching what they’re doing and what they’re allowing to do,” Cash said. “The chirping from the dugout. Somebody needs to tell me, go pull up the numbers, who has hit who more, but I can assure you that other than three years ago, there hasn’t been one pitch thrown with intent from any of our guys. Period. Somebody has to be held accountable. And the last thing I’ll say on it, is that I have a whole damn stable full of guys that throw 98 mph. Period.”

Yankees’ Aaron Boone argues with umpires about air horn being blown outside Phillies’ ballpark

Following the top half of the third inning, Boone came out to home plate to speak with the umpires and pointed out that a group of fans were blowing an air horn outside of the Citizens Bank Park gate. It appeared that Boone was pointing out that the fans were blowing the air horn when Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin delivered a pitch to home plate.

I can’t wait until the next time the Yankees come to Philly.

Tipster leaks evidence alleging Yankees used camera to steal signs in 2018 playoffs

In the midst of a shortened season in a pandemic, the Yankees could be facing similar allegations to that of the Houston Astros from the 2017 postseason. Per an anonymous tip, the Yankees had an ‘eye in the sky’, if you will, in the stands to steal signs.

Take with that video what you will, but should any of said allegations against the Yankees prove to be true, it would expose an astounding level of hypocrisy in the Bronx. New York had been one of the more outspoken ball-clubs against the illegal actions committed by the Astros in their 2017 World Series-winning season.

Apparently, this video is of a member of the Yankees staff, filming the opposing catcher to steal signs from the outfield. Focus on what's on the viewfinder and the billboards to establish location.

The source told me the information above and that it's from the 2018 playoffs. pic.twitter.com/J7SfEUPyUX

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) July 27, 2020

Statcast said a Yankees player hit a 680-foot home run on Monday

Here’s a bold prediction for the 2020 Major League Baseball season: no one will hit a ball farther than Mike Ford did on Monday night. At least by Statcast estimates.

Ford, the Yankees first baseman, clubbed a massive home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of an exhibition game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

There was no doubt it was going to clear the fence at Yankee Stadium.

There is some doubt, however, that the baseball traveled an estimated 680 feet.

Domingo German’s Yankees future in doubt: ‘I left baseball’

Domingo German’s future with the Yankees is in doubt after the right-hander posted a note in Spanish on Instagram Friday night that translated to: “I left baseball. Thanks my people.’’

German has 63 games left on a suspension he’s serving after violating MLB’s domestic violence policy last year. Even though only 60 games are scheduled this season, the league had said he would be eligible to play at the beginning of 2021 because he also sat out last year’s playoffs.

General manager Brian Cashman did not respond to a request for comment on German’s post. Earlier, German wrote in Spanish on Twitter: “Everybody writes their own story with two sides. I believe I wrote mine at Yankee Stadium. If I choose not to come back I will be proud of my hard work in 11 years of my career.”

Bernie Williams Deserves More Credit For Making The Yankees A Dynasty

Throughout that entire [World Series] run, the Core Four clearly played massive roles in New York’s dominance. But Williams outshone almost all of them. According to WAR, only Jeter (25.9) provided the Yankees with more regular-season value than Williams (24.5) during the span of those World Series-winning seasons. Likewise, only Jeter (48.9) generated more weighted runs created (wRC) in the postseason for the Yankees over that span than Williams (38.6) did.4 By any measure, Williams was (at worst) the second-best position player on a team that ranks among the greatest dynasties in baseball history. ...

Phillies’ Andrew McCutchen disses Yankees’ hair policy

Andrew McCutchen thinks the Yankees should cut their hair policy.

“I definitely do think it takes away from our individualism as players and as people,” McCutchen told Jensen Karp on “The Sports Bubble” podcast. “We express ourselves in different ways.”....

“I feel like maybe there should be some change there in the future — who knows when — but it’s just one of the many things in this game that I feel that there just needs ... it needs to be talked about, and to be addressed,” said McCutchen, who took a three-year, $50-million deal from Philadelphia following his stint with the Yankees.

Of course, McCutchen’s stay with the Yankees wasn’t all bad. In fact, he called the organization “great.” He said he felt a little more “powerful” wearing the pinstripes.

Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka hit in head by Giancarlo Stanton line drive

Just minutes after the Yankees opened spring training 2.0 Saturday in The Bronx, Masahiro Tanaka suffered a frightening injury when he took a line drive to the right side of his head off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton.

Tanaka immediately fell on the mound and action stopped as trainers rushed to check on him. He stayed down for approximately five minutes before sitting up. He was helped to his feet and walked off the field with the assistance of two trainers.

The Yankees later announced that Tanaka was “alert, responsive and walking under his own power.” He is being sent to NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital for further evaluation and testing.

63 Years Later, a Confession in a Legendary Yankees Scandal

Joey Silvestri didn’t see all those Yankees file into the Copacabana that night. There were six of them, including Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, and Hank Bauer, plus their wives, all out celebrating Billy Martin’s 29th birthday. It was their third stop of the evening, and they were already well on their way to sloshed. ...

Judge unseals letter from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to Yankees regarding sign-stealing, per report

Major League Baseball and the Players Association may be continuing their back-and-forth regarding a potentially modified season in light of the spread of the novel coronavirus, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing else interesting going on in the sport. For instance, consider that on Friday U.S. District Court judge Jed S. Rakoff ordered that a letter sent from commissioner Rob Manfred to the New York Yankees concerning a 2017 investigation into sign-stealing be unsealed, according to Brendan Kuty of NJ.com.

Rakoff has given the Yankees and MLB until Monday at noon to submit a version of the letter that is “minimally redacted” to protect “privacy interests” of the individuals involved. The Yankees, predictably, are not pleased with the ruling. “There is no justification for public disclosure of the letter,” team attorney Jonathan Schiller said as part of a statement. The Yankees requested a delay so they could submit an appeal.

Judge Rakoff unsealed the letter as part of a class action case brought against the league, the Houston Astros, and the Boston Red Sox by DraftKings players.

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.

IIATMS: Jim Callis of Baseball America Talks Yankees Prospects

(checks fine print for Calvin Riggar update)

CB:  Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances are two of the brightest and most highly sought after pitching prospects in the Yankee system.  While they each miss a lot of bats and generate big strikeout numbers; both have exhibited difficulties in limiting walks.  After watching each struggle with their command in 2011, are you still projecting both pitchers to be top of the rotation starters?

JC:  I don’t think I’ve ever projected Betances as a frontline starter. That may be his ceiling, but given his slow development path and still less-than-stellar command, I’ve suspected for a while that he’s going to end up as a reliever. I still see Banuelos as a starter, however, but again, I don’t think I’ve ever called him a No. 1 starter. He’s a No. 2 or 3 if everything comes together.

CB:  After being listed as Baseball America ’s 108th best prospect prior to the 2011 amateur draft, the Yankees selected Dante Bichette, Jr. with the 51st pick.  He signed quickly and promptly set the Gulf Coast League afire hitting .342/.446/.505 and winning league MVP honors.  Looking back, do you think your initial evaluation was accurate?  If not, what has changed?

JC:  Our initial evaluation was based in part about suspicions that he’ll eventually wind up in the outfield. If he can stay at third base, and the Yankees think he can, then he’ll have more value. Bichette has boosted his stock since the draft with his strong debut and his initial play at third base.

Megdal: Yankees dont need much else thats on the market except maybe a Wilson Betemit

Wilson is the true American icon in the world of Yankees equipment!

By contrast, it is hard to see exactly how Damon fits into the Yankee roster at all. While he is left-handed, and already-signed backup outfielder Andruw Jones is right-handed, Damon has never had much of a platoon advantage against righties. In fact, in 2011, his OPS was nearly 100 points lower against righties than lefties. So even in the positions he does play, Damon doesn’t help very much.

As for Matsui, it has been quite some time since he could be relied upon to play any defensive position at all. His OPS+ dropped to just 92 last year in Oakland. He’ll be 38 in June, and the smart money is on Matsui’s best days being behind him.

Then there’s Jorge Vazquez, an in-house option, who hit 32 home runs for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre in 2011. The Yankees probably know he’s not the answer here. He’ll be 30 in March, so his development is almost certainly over. Even in his breakout 2011, he struck out 166 times in just 500 plate appearances, a poor enough rate that he’d almost certainly crack 200 strikeouts over a full M.L.B. season. He walked just 30 times, so the offensive value he’d provide beyond the occasional home run would likely be nil. And he’s a first baseman at this point, a right-handed one, who’d do little to complement Teixeira and nothing to help keep the offense strong on days Jeter or Rodriguez needed time off.

Just as they did in augmenting pitching staff, it seems probable that the Yankees will bide their time, then make the intelligent acquisition. Kuroda and Pineda were sure signs that New York has no intention of punting the 2012 season (as if they ever would). Making a move for someone like Betemit would show the same kind of purpose.

RLYW: Salvaging a Sunken cost

Burnett projects to have an RA of 5.03 in CAIRO.  The following possible starting pitchers project better than that.

CC Sabathia (3.57)
Michael Pineda (4.37)
Freddy Garcia (4.55)
Brad Meyers (4.56)
Hiroki Kuroda (4.57)
Phil Hughes (4.63)
Ivan Nova (4.93)
...

If that’s true, then every start that goes to Burnett is a start that should be going to one of the above.

...

Unfortunately, since Burnett is owed $33 million over the next two years, the Yankees probably feel obligated to try and get some value out of him.

I don’t think they can do that by pitching him…. trading Burnett’s bad contract to another team for their bad contract might be a way to recoup some of that value.

MLB Trade Rumors: Bartolo Colon Agrees to Sign With Unknown Team

Bartolo Colon has agreed to a deal with an unknown club reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). The right-hander wouldn’t divulge the team because he has not yet passed his physical.

Pretty sure it’s either the All-Stars or the Champs.