GONZO! SO LONG, ANDUJAR

No big surprise here, but Miguel Andujar is officially gonzo!

Andujar got a new home, just like he wanted. Maybe not exactly like he wanted, it took quite a while but it did finally happen. His most recent request to be traded happened back in June and honestly I wanted him to get his wish which is why I wrote I'M TEAM ANDUJAR BECAUSE THE YANKEES MAKE BAD DECISIONS! It was sickening to watch Andujar get passed over for worthless scrubs like Joey Gallo and Aaron Hicks but things have a way of working themselves out.

So now Andujar is a Pittsburgh Pirate and I hope it works out for him. He deserves to get some playing time ad not be stashed away in the minors as a 27-year old infielder / outfielder fill in. Is he the greatest baseball player? No, hardly. He's a far cry from where he was back in 2018 but he's not getting any younger and he has no opportunity as a Yankee. 

It's funny to look back now and think about how the Pirates asked the Yankees to include Andujar and Clint Frazier in a trade to get Gerrit Cole and the Yankees said NO. The Yankees considered Andujar to be untouchable at the time, and here we are four years later and the Pirates got him for free.

Now Andujar gets to reunite in Pittsburgh with several other ex-Yankees including Manny Banuelos, Greg Allen and Ben Gamel just to name a few. Hopefully this is the only similarity that Andujar sees on his new team because he deserves a clean slate.

So this is it....it is finally the end. It was a long time coming, too. I really think the Yankees should've cut the strings sooner and it is only being done now to free up roster space because it's just another thing the Yankees can't seem to manage properly. Andujar can finally pack his bags, get a fresh start and stop thinking about the Yankees.

Good luck to you, Andujar. I am sorry it didn't work out for you here, but best of luck to you in Pittsburgh.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj 

JASSON DOMINGUEZ GETS PROMOTED!

Quick note and big news about "the Martian".

The Bridgewater paper of NJ.com writes:

"Dominguez, a 19-year-old outfielder, was somewhat unexpectedly promoted to Double-A prior to Tuesday night’s game at TD Bank Ballpark. against the Portland Sea Dogs.

Nicknamed “The Martian” for his otherworldly tools on the diamond, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Dominican native is ranked as the No. 42 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline and No. 2 in the Yankees organization, behind Volpe."

There is no doubt that Dominguez and Volpe are important pieces of the Yankees future, but as always you have to wonder if the Yankees have the right balance when it comes to grooming guys and when to bring them up. Remember the Killer B's? 

Only Dellin Betances worked out. Banuelos has bounced around and hasn't done much and Brackman doesn't even play anymore. I'd say the Yankees ruined those guys.

Aaron Judge is the exception as he has been everything we could have asked for, but remember Eric Jagielo out of Notre Dame that same year? 

He ended up playing for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and ended his career in 2018.

The point is I want Dominguez to really work out. I just hope the Yankees don't mess it up.  Who knows... maybe we see those guys in September call-ups. We shall see.

Anyway... cool note. If you're going to TD Bank Park tonight, go Patriots!

YANKEES GRAB A NEW CATCHER FOR MORE DEPTH

Source: Paul J. Bereswill NY Post

And just like that...the Yankees make another deal with the Texas Rangers. This time they pick up another catcher to add more depth to the position. Jose Trevino, a 29-year-old from the Rangers, heads to the Bronx in exchange for once-promising right-hander Albert Abreu and minor league lefty Robert Ahlstrom, a 2021 draft pick. I can't argue with more depth in a position where this team had none, but with Kyle Higashioka playing the way he is and Ben Rortvedt in tow, should we have invested in this kind of trade when we really need starting pitching?

"Trevino and Higashioka are both right-handed hitters, making for more of an imperfect platoon fit than the Higashioka/Rortvedt combo, yet the first priority still seems to be defense considering Trevino’s lack of offensive pop. Over his 516 career plate appearances with the Rangers, Trevino has batted only .245/.270/.364.  Framing-wise, Statcast considered Trevino to be among the best in baseball last season," reported MLB Trade Rumors. Rotvedt is out with an oblique strain and will likely start the season in Triple-A with a trajectory toward the MLB Club. As far as starting pitching, where are the Yankees in that camp?

According to SI.com, "There's still a possibility that New York could make some sort of trade in the next six days, addressing their pitching staff. Boone said he is focused on this organization's internal options, though." The Yankees standout pitching-wise this spring has Manny Bañuelos. Bañuelos was stellar against the Blue Jays on Wednesday night, throwing three scoreless innings. In addition, the confident 31-year-old is up to six scoreless innings this spring with seven strikeouts, giving up only two hits.

Aaron Boone said that pitcher Michael King with also be with the team as they head north in just about a week as spring training wraps up. He has been having a good spring as well. With Luis Severino still not 100% it will be interesting to see how the team handles the first week of the season. 

Source: NY Daily News

So the Yankees addressed the catching and shortstop positions this offseason with trades with the Texas Rangers. It is still are unclear how their starting rotation will play out. I mean everyone is sort of in the same boat. Even the team across town who has a stacked rotation has seen the likes of uncertainty as Jacob deGrom suffered a stress injury in his right shoulder, making him questionable this season. We will see new faces and hopefully exciting baseball this coming week. Let's hope the moves are enough to give the Yankees a chance to make some positive noise early this spring. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

MANNY BANUELOS BECAME A BETTER PITCHER WHILE AWAY FROM THE YANKEES

It kind of makes you wonder if the Yankees ruin pitchers. Or maybe young Manny Banuelos wasn't ready all those years ago when they kept promoting the Killer B's in Manny, Dellin Betances and Andrew Brackman. Whatever the case, it is good to see that Manny is making the most of his time in his second stint with the Yankees. It's really cool and I welcome the lefty. Hopefully he can be a huge factor with this team in 2022!

The New York Post writes:

"Banuelos turned in a third straight scoreless Grapefruit League outing, getting the start against a mostly regular Blue Jays lineup and shutting them out across three innings in an 11-3 loss Wednesday night at Steinbrenner Field.

“It’s very special to be back,” Banuelos said. “I’m enjoying every day I come here to the ballpark. I have a lot of memories. It’s been [11] years since my first spring training and I’m enjoying everything I do here. I’m very grateful to the Yankees for giving me the opportunity to come back.

“I want to take advantage. I want to show I still have something.”...

“I feel there’s always opportunity,” said Banuelos, who is being stretched out as at least a multi-inning reliever. “But honestly, I’m just focusing on what I’m doing every day.”

Since creating a buzz in his first big league camp in 2011 — to the point that Mariano Rivera said Banuelos was the best pitching prospect he had ever seen — and being named the No. 13 prospect in baseball (by MLB.com) ahead of the 2012 season..."

This kid is now a man and he's doing what he can. Will he make it? Will he be a factor? I'm rooting for this guy. I hope so.

WOW! MANNY BANUELOS IS A YANKEE...

Again!

I'm always a fan of adding more useful arms but this news made my head turn pretty quick. We were raving about the "Killer B's" 11 years ago, who remembers them? It feels like a lifetime ago, but back then I had pretty hopes for one of them who was only a young 19 year old.

My have times changed. Who remembers Manny Banuelos? He was one of a trio of young pitchers nicknamed the "Killer B's" who was full of promise, but didn't pan out. Well....now he's reuniting with the Yankees according to CBSSports.com HERE.

Banuelos was invited to Spring Training back in 2011 and Mariano Rivera even said he was one of the best pitching prospects he had seen. He struggled through injuries during the 2012 season and then underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2013 season and then pitched for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2014. Then in January of 2015 the Yankees traded him to the Braves in exchange for Chasen Shreve and David Carpenter who I had a love-hate relationship with and started calling him CRAPenter when he consistently failed to get the job done.

Since then Banuelos has bounced around to several teams until he had brief contracts with the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League in 2020 and then the Sultanes de Monterrey in the Mexican League last season where he finished with a 2.94 ERA.

Once this lockout ends and the season finally starts, Banuelos will be 31 years old. It will interesting to see if he can make it back to the big leagues and be effective. His last MLB appearance was disastrous and the Red Sox released him after one inning....a really bad one.

It's an interesting homecoming for Manny, he will make an appearance at Spring Training and I am rooting for him. I hope he proves that he has learned a lot and can be a good arm for our pitching staff. You can never have enough arms, right?

Welcome home, Manny.....now show us what you've got!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

BETANCES HAS TO STEP IT UP & HE KNOWS IT

Photo: New York Post

Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record is my friend.  I love that...and I love this piece he has out.  Check it out if you get a chance... it's here.  If you want the short version, Dellin Betances spoke out about his role with the New York Yankees and what he needs to do to get in the good graces of Yankee brass and his teammates. In a nutshell... he needs to prove himself.

Photo: Getty Images

"In each of the last four seasons, Yankees’ setup man Dellin Betances has made the AL All-Star team. Yet, as 2018 nears, 'I’m taking it as I have to prove myself.’ This isn’t a new approach for Betances, who didn’t find success until he was switched to the bullpen.

'I feel I’m a lot better than what the numbers show,’ said Betances, who pitched to a 5.59 ERA over his final 12 regular season games. 'I know I’m capable of doing a lot better.’

'I want to have a big part in the next championship. And if I’m the pitcher I can be, I can definitely help and be a big piece to this team.'’’

Now look, Betances has had his moments, and fans have become frustrated with him at times, but we have to put it in perspective... this is a kid and he will get over the hump. 

It's funny... I think back to the days of the 'Killer B's' and how the Yankees had so much hope in Betances, Andrew Brackman and Manny Banuelos.  Well... Betances is still with the Yankees and the others are long gone.

He's got the tools. I just hope maturity kicks in for this kid. If it does, we will see improvement.  I just like this kid and want him to succeed in pinstripes.

Anyway...I had to share Caldera's piece.  Hope you check it out.

BYB "Family Member" Merchandise for sale

STEINBRENNER SPEAKS! THE FUTURE IS HERE, FOLKS!

How many years have we screamed here at BYB about giving the kids an opportunity to shine? Geez, I remember writing feverishly about Dellin Betances, Andrew Brackman and Manny Banuelos years ago. 

Now... we are finally seeing movement in the Yankee organization. I mean REAL MOVEMENT!

Hal Steinbrenner said a lot about the Yankees and our future, the youth movement, and how their time is now! Right now!  The Associated Press has the story and I wanted to share portions from it. Check it out:

Photo: NJ.com

"Baby Bombers mean a lower payroll but higher expectations for the New York Yankees.
Owner Hal Steinbrenner believes the Yankees’ youth movement will pay off this season, and not just with a reduction in spending. He anticipates an abundance of precocious talent will return the Yankees to the postseason...

'We know from our fans this is as excited as they have been in a while,' Steinbrenner said. 'Maybe it’s because we did not do a good job for a number of years getting kids from Single A all the way up to the varsity club... Every spring training brings new hope. But this one feels different, and there’s no doubt the kids are a part of it...

But these young players are going to have to pan out. That’s going to be part of the equation.'”

Photo: NJ.com

A lot of good things were said there from Hal. I mean look, he's right in some regard... there is a lot of energy right now. The kids are gonna make it exciting. Do I see the Yankees winning the whole thing in 2017? No.  In 2018? I think our chances are better.

But this is a guy that I believe is being honest here and I like that he mentions the fans and what WE want.  I means they're paying attention.

I have a good feeling, gang.  Bird. Judge. Austin. and before you know it... Frazier, Torres, Tate and Kaprielian.

The future is here, folks!

HAPPY NEW YEAR. IT'S ABOUT MOVING FORWARD.

Happy New Year from everyone here at Bleeding Yankee Blue!

This year flew.  Between my own personal life, family and crazy activity schedules and all of that... I just remember when it was Halloween and thinking... "My god, where has the year gone?"

Bleeding Yankee Blue has accomplished so much.  We have expanded in the sense that we have a few new writers, and still looking for more by the way (Read HERE) and the writers we do have have grown in to appointments for our readers.  They have become journalists, solid writers with their own flare, they're on niche.  We don't have a strict policy about a lean or bias other than we root for the New York Yankees.  But as you have seen in our body of work... if we're unhappy with our team, a player, a manager... we're going to tell you.  That's because one of the main goals of this Yankee Fan website is to always have integrity, always be unique, conversational, fun and most importantly thorough with how we present this product.  We will not lie to you.  We will demonstrate character!

Through this entire process... we have gained friends... you, to read through our pages, disagree or agree when needed and take to the social media to tell us exactly how you feel.  We, in turn have an obligation that journalists these days appear to have forgotten. We don't disappear after we write our stories. We will interact with you and hash it out.  Never nasty, always a good dialog between our audience and my writers... and always a resolution.  That works, and we practice that here at Bleeding Yankee Blue. I can name dozens of sites that do not.

That's why our audience is loyal. That's why you come to us every single day! That's why celebrities like Laura Posada have worn us, Russell Crowe retweeted us, 

Source: New York Daily News

This year marks 6 years since the first story I posted on the Web about my New York Yankees.  The story was WHY LAST NIGHT WAS IMPORTANT and I will forever be connected in some weird way to Sergio Mitre because he frustrated me so much... BYB was born.  Meanwhile so much has happened... yet other things have changed.

Photo: Getty Images

For one, Joe Girardi is still here and sadly, since our birth in 2010... the Yankees have not won a championship.  Strange, but not surprising.  The Yankees have made plenty of turnover... we've seen guys like Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Mark Texieira and Alex Rodriguez retire.

We've fell in love with guys and their short stints with the Yankees as well.  Guys like Raul Ibanez...Kerry Wood... Eric Chavez.

We've seen the kids transform and then disappear like Manny Banuelos and Andrew Brackman.

(July 16, 2016 - Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America)

And we've even seen a few blossom... Dellin Betances... Tyler Austin to name a few.

(Sept. 6, 2014 - Source: Travis Lindquist/Getty Images North America)

We've watched the Yankees get dramatically younger... we've seen Robinson Cano take the money and run, watch Jacoby Ellbury and Ichiro Suzuki come to New York almost unexpectedly and through all of it... all of it, you guys have continued to read us, tell your friends about us, grow with us, wear our clothes, wish us the best of luck and yes... I can tell you that I am overjoyed, excited, thrilled and all those words that I can't think of right now.

BYB has blossomed and tonight we celebrate on New Year's Eve!  I remember when this whole thing started.  I was leaning on Rob Abruzzese of Bronx Baseball Daily asking him a lot of questions, probably annoying him pretty well, but he was helpful.  But he said something very important to me back then... this is me paraphrasing...  "It's a grind, but if you can get past the 2 year mark, you have a good shot of making it. " My goal however was to not stop.  We haven't.  I mean sure, we've seen some writers go on to college and find no time in their schedule to write for BYB... but we need to continue no matter what and my writers and I know that it's a commitment, even though it's free... even though we need to work it into our schedules no matter what.

Our writers know that we have an obligation to our readers.  We know that we need to produce product for you every day, especially if there is news out there and especially if we have a hard opinion that you need to hear, be it about Yankeeland or about life.  Bottom line... we need to make sure you're fed, because you expect it, because you like my product and because you love our writers and BYB team.

And so on this New Year, 2017... I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for being such an incredible audience.  You are smart people who appreciate and respect the grind, and know that we are human beings.  There will be mistakes some days.  There may even a day we take a day off... but in the end, we always will be here for you to give you our very best work.  That's because we are passionate folks with a love for writing and a love for the New York Yankees.

Thank you friends.

Thank you family.

Farewell to 2016.  Hey 2017... BRING IT!

Robert Casey
BYB Chief, Managing Editor & Head Writer
@BleednYankeeBlu

JAMES KAPRIELIAN TO THE DL

Go ahead, kick us while we're down...

Not a great start to the season.  ARod is slumping, the Yankees aren't terribly good and now their prospect sensation is hurt and going to the DL.

I'm not too happy about the start of the 2016 season.  Reports are that James Kaprielian will go to the DL because there was some swelling in his throwing elbow.

According to several sources, but we'll go with The YES Network on this one:

"...the team announced that right-handed pitching prospect and 2015 first-round draft pick James Kaprielian will be placed on the minor league disabled list after an MRI revealed elbow inflammation.

There is no timetable in place for Kaprielian's return, and he is set to undergo "conservative" treatment comprised of sufficient rest followed by a throwing program."

And that's all we got.  Now, we have speculated here about the Yankees and their minor league system for a while now. I'm not sure why these kids get hurt so often.  Chase Whitley, Manny Banuelos, Ty Hensley,  Andrew Brackman (Remember him?) come to mind in recent memory.  Now Kaprielian.  I'm not sure if it's just dumb luck or if these guys are pushed or if it's something that Steve Hayward and Mike Cocco has spoke about in our BYB features recently, arm strength.

"Steve Hayward: 'Pitchers need to be conditioned to pitch, not pitch to get conditioned.'"
 (From: SAVING ARMS: A BYB FEATURE)

"Cocco: 'You need to know your players, some players are good with 60 pitches, while others struggle at 40. Understanding the players limits as well as the point in the season and arm condition is also a key factor. Early in the year, we may limit the player to 40-60 and once the arm is in condition, we expand that to 50-70 and so on. For pitchers and even position players, keeping the legs in shape is also critical, more times than not, the legs give before the arm gets tired. Pitchers throwing 40+ pitches per game need to have strong legs and good cardiovascular conditioning.'”  (From STRENGTHENING ARMS: A BYB FEATURE)

You gotta wonder if the fact that pitchers are not strengthened early on is a big part of this these days.  Anyway, I find the whole thing very interesting.

Just wanted to fill you in.  Get well soon James!

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BRIAN CASHMAN'S "OPEN TO ANYTHING"

And by "anything", he means candle wax on the nipples and brisk walks in the nude. 

I'm kidding, but I did find it interesting that when asked about the off season, he pretty much hinted that no one is off limits... except for the young big 3.

Here's some of that article from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports:

"...Cashman said he does not anticipate trading any of his three top young players -- pitcher Severino, first baseman Greg Bird or outfielder Aaron Judge. But the GM acknowledged that he was being aggressive and creative in his early discussions.

'I'm open to anything,' Cashman said. 'I'm always open to anything. I'm not afraid... You have to be pretty aggressive and open to trade a good young pitcher under team control (Greene), a left-handed prospect (Banuelos) or a guy like Prado who fits you like a glove,' Cashman said. 'We still are. If we can find matches to make us better as we go forward, we're all ears.'"

I'm eager to see how this plays out. How about you? 

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store! Follow me on Twitter@BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook! Also, don't forget to check out the BYB Hub!

ARLINGTON BLASTS

I assumed Alex Rodriguez would do something big last night. I honestly didn't think Didi would, but no one did.   It were a few homers that put the Yankees ahead of the Rangers last night and alot of clutch hitting...  and we just keep on rolling, this time it was in Arlington.

Ivan Nova took the mound for New York and went 5 innings, giving up 5 hits, 2 runs and struck out 3.  The Rangers would not score again off of Shreve, Wilson and Betances. 

In fact, big 'ups' to Shreve, the guy has been everything we could have asked for... and more.  Don't forget, we got him in the Manny Banuelos for David Carpenter trade.  Carp is gone... Shreve is killing it for us. Love that!

The Yankee run scoring went like this:

In the 3rd, it was Didi who hit a 2 run home run.  That was followed by Chris Young who sacrificed home a run. 

Then, in the 6th, it was the Alex Rodriguez '40th birthday' shot heard 'round the world.  After that, Didi came up in the 7th and singled home 2 more runs. Beautiful.

The Yankees beat the Rangers.  They're looking real good.  Keep it up!

Final: Yankees 6 - Rangers 2

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!  Also, don't forget to check out the BYB Hub!