Yankees, NYCFC organize $1.4M relief fund

TAMPA, Fla.—The Yankees and the New York City Football Club announced on Thursday that they have created the New York Yankees COVID-19 Disaster Relief Program, a $1.4 million distress fund for Yankee Stadium employees impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The needs-based grant initiative has been created to provide assistance for eligible full-time and part-time game day staff, including those working for the Yankees, Legends Hospitality and the New York City Football Club (NYCFC). The grants are intended to ease the burden caused by the pandemic associated with essential expenses such as food, medical care, shelter and other basic needs.

Yankees’ Aaron Judge Is Out for Opening Day With Rib Fracture

After nearly a dozen tests of several parts of Judge’s body, a CT scan this week finally pinpointed the culprit. But the diagnosis raised more questions about the Yankees’ handling of injuries, particularly because Judge’s dates to last season.

In right field on Sept. 18, Judge made a diving attempt on a fly ball. He grimaced when he got up, and the team later said that Judge had jammed his shoulder. He kept playing through the American League Championship Series.

Yankees’ injuries continue to pile up as Gary Sanchez dealing with back soreness

The Yankees won 103 games a season ago, but in some ways their success was overshadowed by the absurd number of injuries they suffered. Unfortunately for the colossus in the Bronx, the run-up to the 2020 season hasn’t brought measurably improved fortunes.

To recap, lefty James Paxton is sidelined until at least May after undergoing back surgery. Tommy John surgery has put right-hander Luis Severino out for all of 2020, and outfielders Giancarlo Stanton (calf) and Aaron Judge (ribs) are in doubt for Opening Day. As well, outfielder Aaron Hicks is still out after having Tommy John surgery last October.

Now you can add slugging catcher Gary Sanchez to the ledger. It doesn’t sound serious, but Sanchez was scratched from taking batting practice on Saturday because of a sore back.

So, when did it turn out that everyone on the Yankees was made out of Waterford crystal?

Judge, Stanton likely to miss Opening Day

Well, it looks like this is becoming an annual tradition among the Yankees:

TAMPA, Fla.—The Yankees will be without two of their most prominent sluggers to begin the season. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are both considered unlikely to appear in the Yankees’ Opening Day lineup, general manager Brian Cashman said on Tuesday at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Judge is continuing to undergo a battery of tests to determine the cause of the discomfort in his right pectoral muscle, and though Cashman said that Judge has been responding well to treatment over the last 48 hours, there has been no diagnosis or set date for him to resume on-field activities. The Yankees are scheduled to open the regular season on March 26 at Baltimore.

“I don’t see him ready by Opening Day because of the time frame,” Cashman said. “It’s 3 1/2 weeks, and just then the healing and then having to have a Spring Training.”

Stanton is recovering from a Grade 1 right calf strain sustained while performing defensive drills on Feb. 25. Cashman said that he believes Stanton will be ready to play sometime in April, setting the recovery time at four to six weeks from the date of injury.

Giancarlo Stanton likely out for start of Yankees season with injury

When Giancarlo Stanton slid out of the machine Wednesday he was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain of the right calf. Stanton, who wasn’t included in the batting practice groups before the day’s Yankees-Nationals game at George M. Steinbrenner Field, suffered the injury near the end of Tuesday’s fielding practice.

“He basically has a Grade 1 calf strain,’’ manager Aaron Boone said following an 8-2 Yankees win in a game shortened to 4 ½ innings because of rain. “He will be down for a little bit.’’

And possibly in jeopardy of opening the season on the injured list, where he spent a big chunk of last year due to a left biceps strain, a left calf strain and a right knee sprain that limited him to 18 regular-season games.

Yankees’ Luis Severino headed for Tommy John surgery

It looks like the worst-case scenario for Luis Severino and the Yankees.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman said on Tuesday that team doctors have recommended Tommy John surgery for the 26-year-old right-hander.

Severino was shut down last week after feeling soreness in his forearm when throwing changeups, with the issue dating back to his final postseason start last year against the Astros. He was sent back to New York for a battery of tests, which revealed the extent of the troubling issue.

Severino (forearm) shut down, to be evaluated

TAMPA, Fla.—As Luis Severino recovered from his start in Game 3 of last year’s American League Championship Series against the Astros, the Yankees right-hander mentioned soreness in his right forearm, a comment that general manager Brian Cashman said that he disregarded when the issue seemed to dissipate.

When Severino’s complaints resurfaced during the offseason, the Yankees were concerned enough to have the hurler travel to New York on two occasions, though their MRIs and CT scans did not reveal any significant findings. Severino believed he was in the clear, but a new recurrence of that forearm discomfort has prompted the club to shut him down indefinitely.

“There’s an unknown right now,” Cashman said. “It could be small and a timing issue or it could be more significant than that, because we haven’t determined what we’re dealing with yet.”

Severino had been scheduled to celebrate his 26th birthday by throwing a bullpen session on Thursday at George M. Steinbrenner Field, but he is instead expected to travel to Orlando, Fla., for further examination by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad. That evaluation is expected to take place on Friday.

Well, it looks like it will be one of those seasons for the Yankees again…..

Cole starts Yankees tenure with questions about Astros

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — On the day of his first formal workout with the New York Yankees, Gerrit Cole talked about what he did and did not know about the Houston Astros.

Houston was disciplined by Major League Baseball for breaking rules by using a video camera to steal signs during its run to the 2017 title and again during the 2018 season, the first after Cole was acquired from Pittsburgh.

New York lost to Houston in the AL Championship Series in both 2017 and against last year. Cole is ready to discuss the Astros if his new teammates inquire.

“I’ll just give them an honest answer, which is I had no idea of any of it going on and I didn’t see any of it,” Cole said. “So, I really don’t think I have much to apologize for.”

Will he at least explain why he got out of the Astros uniform the minute he could, and if there was any broader meaning to that?

Boo the Astros at Angel Stadium? Yankees fans to join thousands of Dodgers fans

The Angels are projected to set a record for payroll this season, so every bit of increased revenue helps. And, as an unforeseen consequence to the cheating ways of the Houston Astros, fans of the Dodgers are here to help fund the Angels.

Last month a Dodgers fan group purchased 800 tickets to the Angels’ home opener on Friday, April 3, against the Astros. The Astros are not scheduled to play the Dodgers this season, so Pantone 294 figured a trip to Anaheim would be in order.

The Astros were convicted of cheating in 2017, the year they beat the Dodgers in the World Series. For fans that might have been deprived of the first Dodgers championship parade since 1988, booing the Houston team could serve as an outlet for their frustration.

We come today to tell you demand is so high that Pantone 294 now has secured 2,727 tickets to the game.

We aren’t about to witness European-style hooliganism, are we?

Yankees add competition in job for backup catcher

NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees now have more competition in the job for backup catcher, with Erik Kratz, Josh Thole and Chris Iannetta agreeing to minor league contracts Monday.

Austin Romine, Gary Sánchez’s backup the last three seasons, became a free agent and agreed to a $4.15 million, one-year contract with Detroit.

Kyle Higashioka is the only other catcher on New York’s 40-man roster. He hit .214 with three homers and 11 RBIs in 57 plate appearances with the Yankees last year and batted .278 with 20 homers and 56 RBIs at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

The 39-year-old Kratz was signed to a minor league deal by the Yankees last June following his release by Tampa Bay and hit .299 with seven homers and 31 RBIs at Scranton. He played for the U.S. team that failed in November to qualify for the Olympics.

I assume that they’ve already ruled out a College of Catchers.

Ten Questions for the Unofficial Start of Baseball Season

The most important moment of the Super Bowl had nothing to do with football. When the game clock hit zero, baseball season began.

Sure, there’s plenty of time to get mad in March while watching college basketball, but nothing gets us through the final weeks of winter quite like the anticipation of baseball. We’ve got 10 big questions leading up to the 2020 season.

1. Will the Yankees run away with the AL East?
The Yankees signed Gerrit Cole at the winter meetings and immediately became World Series favorites. Giving $324 million to the best pitcher on the planet is the most Yankees way to fix their rotation, and their lineup should be as good, if not better than it was last season.

Still, the AL East isn’t an easy division to win. The Rays have mastered winning on a small budget and should be good again this year. The Blue Jays should be better in their second season of Vlad Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio. And the Red Sox will still be a threat as long as they don’t trade Mookie Betts (more on that later).

So, what questions do you have that aren’t asked here?

Yankees overhaul training staff after setting injury record

NEW YORK (AP) — Eric Cressey thinks some injuries can be prevented. After a season in which medical updates overshadowed scouting reports, the New York Yankees hope so.

Cressey was hired by the Yankees in the new role of director of player health and performance, a move made after New York had 30 players make a combined 39 trips to the injured list last year. New York set a big league record for sidelined players, topping the 28 on the 2016 Los Angeles Dodgers.

“You always want to separate bad processes from bad outcomes,” Cressey said during a conference call Tuesday. “Players are going to be hit by pitches, but there are definitely things that we can do on the processes side of things to provide a level of individualization in the way that we assess players, in the way that we listen to players and solicit their feedback on what’s worked for them.”

The 38-year-old founded Cressey Sports Performance in 2007 and will continue as president of the company, which specializes in kinesiology and biomechanics and maintains facilities in Hudson, Massachusetts, and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. His clients have included Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer, New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard and other major leaguers.

Something of interest to follow for the coming season, to see if this works, and, if so, to what degree….

East 161st street in the Bronx to be renamed ‘Jeter Street’: report

There’s not much more to be said about what Derek Jeter means to the Bronx. Now the borough wants to rename part of East 161st street, from Yankee Stadium eastbound, after the former Yankee captain, according to amNewYork Metro.

Two Bronx councilwomen, Vanessa Gibson and Diana Ayala, plan to introduce legislation to rename part of E. 161st street as “Jeter Street,” in the report released Tuesday.

The plan is for “Jeter Street” to intersect “Rivera Avenue” — renamed after fellow Yankee legend Mariano Rivera last year when he became the first unanimous inductee into the Hall of Fame.

The next class of Hall of Famers will be announced on Jan. 21. Jeter is Cooperstown bound, but it’s unclear if he’ll be able to match Rivera’s perfect ballot.

In bizarre lawsuit, Yankees’ failed prospect says Derek Jeter ruined his career

Well, here’s something you don’t see every day:

In a rambling, conspiracy-laced lawsuit, a failed prospect, who never played above High-A and had a career batting average of .244, sued the Yankees for $34 million and blamed Yankees legend Derek Jeter for derailing his career as a shortstop, presumably because the soon-to-be Hall of Famer was afraid of the competition.

It was a wild swing and a miss.

In the lawsuit, dismissed by a judge in May, Garrison Lassiter used letters, newspaper clippings and scouting reports to weave a strange tale of conspiracy that he said was launched against him “to protect the career of Derek Jeter.” He alleged that it was “blantanly (sic) obvious” that Jeter controlled the Yankees organization, and he insisted Yankees employees libeled and slandered him to other teams, preventing him from reaching the major leagues.

The reason? “To protect the career of Derek Jeter.”

Future sign: Cole arrives with old placard of Yankees fealty

NEW YORK (AP) — On his first day in pinstripes, Gerrit Cole admitted to stealing a sign — no, not those signs.

Cole affixed his signature to a record $324 million, nine-year contract at 10:45 a.m., walked into a news conference at Yankee Stadium and pulled out the crinkled placard he took to one of New York’s World Series games at Arizona in 2001. A newspaper photo from Game 6 or 7 shows the 11-year-old holding the sign reading: “Yankee Fan Today Tomorrow Forever.” Cole brought the banner to the Bronx, its letters no longer blue but now tan.

“I’d like to start with something that’s pretty special to my heart,” he said, pulling out the sign in a stroke of showmanship that would have made George Steinbrenner proud. “I’d just like to say, I’m here. I’ve always been here.”

Cole held up the sign of fealty with Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner — George’s son — and admitted he didn’t make the poster but was gifted it from other fans who had brought it to an earlier Series game. They gave it to him at the Ritz-Carlton in Phoenix, where Cole stayed with his family, along with the Yankees.

A reminder of the importance of the love of the game for those who participate in it, as well as the rest of us.

Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees reportedly must pay luxury tax bills for 2019

The final bills for those teams exceeding the Competitive Balance Tax (CBT)—known as the luxury tax—threshold for 2019 have arrived. According to documents obtained by the Associated Press, the Red Sox, Yankees, and Cubs are the only teams that will owe for this past season.

The AP reports that the Red Sox owe a team-record $13.4 million tax. The Cubs are next with a $7.6 million bill, and then the Yankees check-in with $6.7 million owed. The Red Sox this past season led MLB with a payroll of $228 million, but they managed just 84 wins and a third-place finish in the AL East. The Cubs also missed the postseason 2019, while the 103-win Yankees stand as the only taxed team to make the playoffs last season. The champion Nationals were tied for fourth with a luxury tax payroll of $205 million, but wound up just under the limit.

The CBT is levied on average-annual-value payrolls above a certain dollar figure—$206 million for 2019. A team over the tax for the first time has to pay a 20 percent fine on the overage. A team over the line for two years in a row must pay a 30 percent fine. And three or more years in a row entails a 50 percent tax on the overage. The CBT also includes additional surtaxes for exceeding the threshold by $20 million (12 percent); $40 million (42.5 percent); and repeating over $40 million (45 percent). A team that goes more than $40 million over also has its highest draft pick moved down 10 spots provided it isn’t picking in the top six.

Given all the discussion of how important the luxury tax has become, a review of the figures is of interest.

Adam Warren to rehab from Tommy John with New York Yankees

NEW YORK (AP) — Adam Warren will rehab from Tommy John surgery with the New York Yankees.

Warren agreed Monday to a minor league contract with his former team but is not expected to pitch next year while he recovers from surgery that took place in September.

A 32-year-old right-hander, Warren debuted with the Yankees in 2012, was traded to the Chicago Cubs in December 2015, reacquired by New York in July 2016 and dealt to Seattle in July 2018. He signed a one-year contract with San Diego as a free agent ahead of the 2019 season and was 4-1 with a 5.34 ERA in 25 relief appearances through June 7, then was placed on the injured list the following day with a strained right forearm.

A question, for the contract mavens among us:

How do we interpret this contract?

Yankees, Brett Gardner reunite on one-year, $12.5 million deal

George A. King III of the New York Post reports that the Yankees and outfielder Brett Gardner are back together on a one-year, $12.5 million contract. The deal includes a second year option worth $20 million.

Gardner, 36, is coming off of the strongest offensive season of his career, batting .251/.325/.503 with 28 home runs, 74 RBI, 86 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases over 550 plate appearances. While he has certainly lost a step or two with age, he still rates as an above-average defensive corner outfielder as well.

So, what chance do you support Gardner has of getting the club option picked up for 2021?

The Yankee Death Star Is Back

The Yankees are loaded now with players of spellbinding possibility. How far will Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton hit it? Will Aroldis Chapman throw his 100 mile-an-hour fastball or his wipeout slider? How many strikeouts will Cole get tonight?

If you love the Yankees, you dream about that stuff. If you hate the Yankees, it makes you groan. Either way, you care enough to watch the game in some form, which keeps cash rolling into the Bank of Steinbrenner.

No single move can guarantee that long-awaited return to the World Series, not even a record contract for an ace in his prime. But the big, bad Yankees are back, and that is good for the game.

Yankees, Gerrit Cole agree to record 9-year, $324M deal

Prized free-agent pitcher Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees have agreed to a record nine-year, $324 million contract, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

The deal includes an opt-out clause after five years, sources told Passan, and surpasses the deal Stephen Strasburg finalized with the Washington Nationals on Monday for most total money and annual average salary for a pitcher, at $36 million.

MLB: Gerrit Cole sparks rare Yankees-Dodgers heavyweight fight

I don’t really see the Dodgers as seriously interested in Cole. That’s assuming he’s not willing to go four years with a huge AAV.

Yankees Have Reportedly Made $245MM Offer To Gerrit Cole

I'm told #Yankees have a seven-year, $245 million offer on the table for Gerrit Cole. Would be a record-setting contract for a pitcher, surpassing Greinke’s $34.4 million AAV. Question is whether #Dodgers or #Angels will go to 8-9 or even 10 years.

— Bob Klapisch (@BobKlap) December 8, 2019

Sources: Yankees make signing righty Gerrit Cole top offseason priority

The New York Yankees have made signing right-hander Gerrit Cole their clear offseason priority and have ownership-level approval to offer him a record-setting deal, sources familiar with their plans told ESPN.

The Yankees’ fondness for the 29-year-old Cole, whose fantastic 2019 season with the Houston Astros set him up to smash David Price’s record $217 million contract for a pitcher, was only reinforced during a meeting with him earlier this week, sources said.

New York and the Los Angeles Angels, a team similarly smitten with Cole and in even greater need of pitching, are preparing for a bidding war that executives expect will reach well beyond $250 million, according to sources. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ interest in Cole is acute as well, though they are also considering bids for right-hander Stephen Strasburg and third baseman Anthony Rendon, sources said.

While the expectation going into the offseason was that negotiations with Cole could stretch into January, the clear willingness of teams to engage in high-year, high-dollar deals could ratchet up the timetable, according to sources. Cole’s agent, Scott Boras, has yet to solicit offers, but the teams’ recognition of Cole’s value and understanding of multiple motivated buyers could have an expeditious effect, sources said.

Something to potentially watch for in the coming weeks.

The Best Post-Season Games Ever Pitched

Don Larsen doesn’t top the list.
Don Larsen doesn’t top the list?!??
Don Larsen doesn’t top the list.

Yankees to meet with Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg as team looks to upgrade rotation

The New York Yankees know their starting pitching held them back last season. To remedy that, the team will meet with the top two pitchers on the free-agent market.

The Yankees will sit down with both Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg over the next couple days, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Both players are represented by Scott Boras.

It’s believed that the Yankees will be more aggressive for the 29-year-old Cole, who they’ve coveted for years. While New York will make a play for Strasburg, many believe he’ll return to the Washington Nationals, according to Rosenthal.

The Yankees’ interest in both players shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Yankees won 103 games last season on the strength of their offense and bullpen. The team’s 117 wRC+ — an advanced metric that measures a team’s offensive production — ranked second last season. Their 4.08 bullpen ERA ranked ninth.

Whether or not they do anything beyond this, on the other hand….