THE YANKEES TRADE FOR A GUY YANKEES FANS DO NOT WANT

I mean, talk about a team just not in tune with their fan base. Jesus!

A lot of chatter late last night on Twitter. The Yankees got a lefty hitting outfielder... and one they really needed with the idea of getting Juan Soto next... at least that's the plan. But fans aren't happy, neither am I. Here's that news on how the Yankees snagged Alex Verdugo from the Red Sox.

Fansided writes:

"The Boston Red Sox traded Verdugo to their hated rival, the New York Yankees, late on Tuesday night. Verdugo had been rumored to be on the trade block for the last few days, and Boston found an unusual suitor in New York...Verdugo serves as a corner outfield upgrade for the Yankees if they wish to use him in that role. New York is also reportedly interested in San Diego Padres star Juan Soto..."

In return, the Yanks gave up No. 12 prospect Richard Fitts, relief pitcher Greg Weissert and Nicholas Judice.  They hardly broke the bank, but what happened next on twitter was interesting.  It seems like many Yankee fans, just don't want Verdugo.

Axisa

"Verdugo, 27, steps into Josh Donaldson’s I-can’t-stand-this-guy roster spot. I mean seriously, the Yankees have to start winning back an angry and increasingly apathetic fan base, and their first significant move of the offseason is trading for Alex Verdugo???"

— Bobby Milone (@BobbyMilone29) December 6, 2023

And then this:

Alex Verdugo, initial reaction: meh. He’s solid, when he’s motivated and healthy. Those are two things he rarely is, though. Never lived up to his potential. Could he? Sure. That would help the lineup immensely. If his poor attitude shows up, though, Yankee fans will hate him.

— John McLaughlin (@JohnPMcLaughlin) December 6, 2023

This:

The stuff that nightmares are made of pic.twitter.com/9lAm0GTpA5

— 💙✨AMBER عمبرین✨💙 (@amber00827) December 6, 2023

And this:

Alex Verdugo? You kiddin’ me right now? Just now seeing it… pic.twitter.com/uz5NACaM7x

— Tim Gregory (@tim_greg20) December 6, 2023

Us Yankee fans are disenchanted. We were disenchanted when the season ended last year and signing Alex Verdugo does not make things better at all.  But now we wait and see what happens next.  And hopefully it's Soto... and hopefully the Yankees flip Verdugo to San Diego for him.

Stay tuned.

YOU DON'T LIKE THE YANKEES, VLAD? WE DON'T LIKE YOU EITHER

It was great to see Vlad Guerrero Jr. plunked last night by Greg Weissert in the Yankees loss to them.  Was it calculated? Was it an accident? Either way, the problem we all have with Vlad Guerrero is that he's literally obsessed with our team.  This is a guy that made his own problems, and pissed off the entire Yankee fan base, not the mention the Yankees.  No one cares about you, Vlad. Your father was a true baseball professional. You however are not. You're trash... and you're obsessed.  You don't want to be a Yankee? You would never sign with the Yankees you say?  Have you thought about how ridiculous your ego is? We don't want you!

Fansided writes a great article on last night's events, and it involved one true Yankee leader... Anthony Rizzo!

Anthony Rizzo on what he said to Vlad: “Just walk to first base. I just took exception. I’m just going to back my teammate up. He was just staring him down. It was obviously an accident. I get Vlad’s side of being pissed. I’ve been hit many times.” pic.twitter.com/SL5fcm5cq9

— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) April 22, 2023

"Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reiterated his point that he really doesn't like the New York Yankees, and that he will never sign with them. The reason why is something he cites as "personal," and he has let the world know on numerous occasions in the past year that he likes to "kill" the Yankees. He certainly did that earlier in the series-opening game, crushing a two-run homer in the top of the first inning, and had some fun on his trot around the bases.

Well, things got a bit more chippy later on in the game.

In the top of the ninth inning, Guerrero was hit in the left elbow guard by Yankees relief pitcher Greg Weissert. Guerrero took exception to this, seemingly thinking there was intent behind the throw, and stared down Weissert. As he continued to stare him down, Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo began jawing with Guerrero, telling him to take his base.

Rizzo said that "I'm just going to back my teammate up" and that the plunking was an accident.

Weissert said that he didn't intentionally hit Guerrero, telling reporters, "you guys watched the game, I didn't have my best stuff." 

It just shows the ego of Vlad to think that we were out to get him.  But more to this... this reminds me of the rivalry in the past of Yankees and George Brett and the Royals, of when things ran hot with the Red Sox.  Trust me, if that's what Vlad wants to accomplish, he has... we all can't stand him.

I have no doubt the Blue Jays will plunk one of our guys today at the Stadium.  All because Vlad's obsessed.  He needs to really just shut up and play. That's the bottom line.

YANKS SHOW NO PATIENCE, MAKE A CUT & IT'S NOT WHO YOU THINK

Baseball is brutal sometimes. You go out there and you fail, most likely you could be demoted. Sometimes they give you another shot, sometimes they don't. Just a few short days ago Suzie Pinstripe wrote COULD JHONY BRITO BE THE YANKEES FIFTH STARTER?

It was a great question at the time. In it she simply wrote:

"The Yankees can't only win on days when Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes pitch. They need more from their starting and closing rotations and that more very much might be gritty 25-year-old Jhony Brito."

At the time, it just made sense and still does. One bad outing should not cut a guy like Brito, but what happened next really was strange. Colten Brewer replaced Brito and gave up 2 homers right away.  And Empire Sports Media writes:

"The New York Yankees were forced to make a few bullpen moves following Jhony Brito’s tough performance on Thursday evening. Brito couldn’t get out of the first inning, allowing seven runs before relief pitcher Colten Brewer took over, immediately giving up two homers himself.

It’s interesting to think that Brito’s dud may have ultimately lost Brewer his job since management needed a rested bullpen piece to help smooth things over on Friday.

Unfortunately for Brewer, this was the end of his tenure in New York unless he manages to clear waivers and land on the Triple-A squad.

Brewer was designated for assignment on Friday afternoon, and without any minor league options left, the team had no choice but to move on without him."

As they say, "I didn't see that one coming."

And so it looks that Brewer's gone. And so what happens next?

ESM writes:

"...to replace Brewer on the roster, the Yankees called up Greg Weissert, one of their top young arms looking to find a home at the MLB level.

At 28 years old, Weissert pitched 11.1 innings for the Yankees last season, hosting a 5.56 ERA but didn’t give up a single run across his final four appearances."

The Yankees are not exactly lighting it up so far in April.  I actually think that making quick moves to improve things immediately is a silly tactic, but these are the Yankees and every year Hal says he believes we have the team to win a championship. But let's keep it real... we don't.

I really hope this helps; I do. In the meantime, good luck to Brewer. I hope everything works out for him.

YANKEE NEWS ON THE TRANSACTIONS WIRE!

The Transactions wire is where all the news starts for these teams and goes to the writers. I mean sure, you can look at Twitter and guys like Jon Heyman and Jon Morosi will tweet something about a team, but typically they know this stuff just because they got to the transaction wire before everyone else that day.  

Now there are times where guys get an inside scoop and that often comes from highly respected guys like Jeff Passan and Jack Curry, but for the most part, that's how it works. 

I remember feeling really cool back in 2015 when I got a scoop early about Clay Rapada. I remember at that time when I was the first to report on Clay Rapada signing with the Giants, a minor league deal. MLB Trade Rumors took it upon themselves to report who got it first and of course, botched it.  It was Greedy Pinstripes who gave them jazz on our behalf, (Love those guys) and it was soon corrected.  

Here's that story, one of my victories from back in the day.

MLB Trade Rumors has always been top notch and that's the business they are in. I'm not in that game... I'm just telling you how the Transaction wire works.

That being said, here's some Yankee news you need to know about. The Yankees have activated Domingo German, Greg Weissert and they invited Catcher Carlos Narvaez.

In 2022, German had a 3.61 ERA in 15 games.  I was never a big fan of Weissert when he first showed up in pinstripes, but he's growing on me. Weissert is from Bay Shore, so there's that hometown feel with him, and it appears the Yankees like him.

When it comes to Narvaez, he's a catcher, something we always need and he's working his way up the ranks. Yanks go Yard has a great write up on him:

"In terms of halting the running game, Narvaéz is the best in the Yankees' system below the surface.

Second place throughout the system goes to Antonio Gomez, the 21-year-old who ranks No. 5 on Keith Law's latest surprising list of top prospects, and who got his season back on track midway through en route to looking like a 2023 breakout candidate. He caught a nothing-to-sneeze-at 30.6% of runners last season, but Narvaéz, a surprise name on very few radars, cleared him by a nice margin.

Hopefully, subbing in Narvaéz in the late innings of the Yankees' spring training showdowns becomes standard practice -- you know, baking in the now-guaranteed Ben Rortvedt injury."

Yankee Spring Training is right around the corner. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited! Let's GO!!