THE YANKEES JUST MADE A TRADE

Photo of JP Sears / Southern Conference photo

It has started.  The Yankees have made a move. Yankees Public Relations tweeted this just a short time ago...

The @Yankees today announced they acquired minor league LHP JP Sears and minor league RHP Juan Then from Seattle in exchange for RHP Nick Rumbelow.

— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) November 18, 2017

So it appears Nick Rumbelow goes to Seattle. 

Photo: MLB.com

Yanks get a decent Lefty in JP Sears and Righty Juan Then.  I know what you're thinking... Then what, right?

We shall see. Maybe a Manager. Stay tuned with that.


BYB Stack Merchandise (2017)

NOW ANOTHER YANKEE NEEDS TOMMY JOHN

It's amazing to me how many pitchers and players in general are getting Tommy John Surgery.  It's fascinating actually.  We even wrote extensively about saving young arms in youth baseball in SAVING ARMS: A BYB FEATURE...a very popular feature on BYB. Here's a snippet:

"Baseball Health Network just launched it's website, and I would highly recommend checking it out. While talking with (Steve) Hayward, great points were made. We discussed pitch counts and how the number of pitches a player throws should not be determined by the league’s rules, but by how prepared the player is. Notice that's in bold.  If, for example, a kid in youth baseball is allowed to throw 85 pitches in a game, that doesn’t necessarily mean he should. If it’s game one and he has maxed out at a 40 pitch bullpen, what would make you think he is ready to rear back and throw 85 pitches? He did not build up his pitch count and arm strength enough leading up to this first start. See what I mean?"

That was on the youth scale, but that translates all the way to High School and to minor and major leaguers today and it's just the way it is right now in sports, baseball in particular.  In a nutshell, training is very specific and youth athletes are just "Doing it wrong" so to speak.

Now it looks like another Yankee is now going under the knife.  Chad Jennings of LoHud just tweaked this about minor league Yankee Nick Rumbelow:

Nick Rumbelow placed on the Triple-A disabled list. Might have hurt himself while warming up last night. Not sure the nature of the injury.

— Lohud Yankees Blog (@LoHudYankees) April 11, 2016

Source says Nick Rumbelow needs Tommy John surgery.

— Lohud Yankees Blog (@LoHudYankees) April 11, 2016

Now look, the Yankees were looking forward to possibly seeing this guy at some point, they had high hopes, I guess they just need to wait it out now.

(In photo: Steve Hayward, Dr. Christopher Ahmad)
I wonder if Dr. Ahmad, who was written about in that SAVING ARMS: A BYB FEATURE piece will do the surgery. 

Remember he did Chase Whitley when he was with the team.

Anyway, that's alittle nugget coming out of Yankeeland right now and the whole thing is just very interesting.  We'll keep you posted if any more details come out. For now, get well soon Nick.

And by the way, if you get a moment, read about the Baseball Health Network and be sure to read that Saving Arms feature.  We'll have a followup to it in just a few days. Look for it ONLY on Bleeding Yankee Blue.

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THE YANKEE MIDDLE RELIEF IS SHAPING UP

Almost all of the splash in the offseason has had to do with the bullpen, specifically the closer role. With the acquisition of Aroldis Chapman, the back end of the Yankees bullpen is the best in baseball bar none. Despite the Chapman suspension, presumed interim closer Andrew Miller and 8th inning guy Dellin Betances still present a formidable presence late in games. It's a sharp contrast to the starting rotation, where a lot of attention - the wrong kind - has been paid over the winter. Whatever happens with the starters, there is still that bridge to the closer that looks a little curious to me right now.

Ivan Nova looks to be the Yankees most reliable pitcher not originally slated to be in the rotation. He threw three scoreless innings against the Mets to follow a decent performance against Philly the week before. He could be a good setup man, if not for Joe Girardi's statement that CC Sabathia will have to earn his spot in the rotation. I love CC, but he is the only starter not performing well this spring. You don't make a statement like Girardi did without having a plan as to who would replace him. To me, Nova would be the obvious choice. Not to mention that he's first in line in case someone gets hurt, and that seems to be an eventuality.

The bullpen starts to degrade once you look past Nova. Chasen Shreve is the probably the last left-handed reliever left after the recent cuts. He is having a spectacular spring so far. Nevertheless, he gave the Yankees reason to question his ability last year, so he is a question mark. James Pazos was seen as a good replacement for Justin Wilson after the trade, be he has not looked good and was cut. I had high hopes for Jacob Lindgren as a lefty bullpen power guy. After needing surgery last year, he had a dreadful first start to his spring. He looked decent in his next two starts before being cut, and he may be an option later this season if he can get better control of his pitches.

The right-handed side of the bullpen looks a little better, with Nick Rumbelow, Nick Goody, and Branden Pinder presenting as good options. I should include Bryan Mitchell on this list, but I see him as more of a 7th starter. See my comments above about Ivan Nova. With this rotation, it's not so crazy to plan for seven. Nevertheless, they all had a good spring. If they can keep up this level of performance throughout 2016, they should provide some stability to the pitching staff.

To me, this bullpen reminds of a team in a developing year. You have some very talented but very young players who are going to get their feet wet this season. Getting their feet wet is a euphemism for "they will be terrible at times but they will learn and they will become great." So I expect some turbulence in this space, but if you're looking long-term, this should be a good pen.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row







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THE YANKEE WIN THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN

Sometimes in baseball... it's frustrating. After all, the Blue Jays have been pretty hot since the trade deadline and they're bound to get cold soon... but when? The Yankees? We do a nice mini-run, and then we stumble, but we stumble at the wrong time. At least, that's how I see it.

Well, the Yankees of course needed a win today, but they fell short.  Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays won. That allowed the Yankees to drop further out of first place.  It wasn't supposed to happen that way considering Nathan Eovaldi was on the mound. But the Rays beat him... that's it. 

Eovaldi went 5.1 innings allowing 5 hits and 3 runs.  He struck out 7.  The most impressive part was Eovaldi kept the Yankees in the game, and then the pen of all kinds of pitchers did the same.  After Eovaldi held the Rays to 3 runs, Shreve, Warren, Rumbelow, Pazos and Andrew Bailey kept them scoreless.  Pretty incredible.

The Yankee run scoring went like this:

In the 5th, with the score 3, nothing Rays, Didi Gregorius doubled knocking in John Ryan Murphy.  Then, in that same inning it was Brett Gardner grounding out, but in the process, Didi scored.  That was it ladies and gentlemen.  We left 9 on base, and were 0-5 with runners in scoring position. 

We can't have that...we just can't.

Final: Rays 3 - Yankees 2

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PETTITTE'S DAY SPOILED BY LOUSY PLAY

It's not supposed to be this way. The Yanks shouldn't lose when we honor our guys‎.

Today I ventured out with my old man to Andy Pettitte Day. It was a gift, and the ceremony was lot of fun. I was touched by the way Andy Pettitte spoke and was humbled. He's bashful, not used to the attention and I found that ironic considering he was one of the terrific Core Four. They were always in the spotlight. Always on display. But Andy said it best today. He said when he played, he went out there and did his job and he was thrilled with his team and support over the years. 

I was pleased with his family. I observe alot and watched Josh and his gorgeous wife and Jared and the rest of his family and loved their poise and maturity. It speaks volumes to me. They were raised right. Andy's wife Laura was a huge part of that. Andy said as much today in his speech. I Love that.

I love that Scott Brosius was there. That the Core Four was there again. That Bernie was there. And I was blown away that yet another Yankee great had a plaque and number retired. This is Andy's plaque in the Yankee Muesum today:

The game itself was just not fun. ‎ The Yankee bats appeared lifeless and hey, there will be games where that happens. Even coaching Little League, you have your days. But the Yankees can't have this now. Not with the Astros coming in. Not with the Blue Jays breathing down their neck.

CC was not the guy I love watching He was off. His knee was clearly barking and that's an issue. He may go on the DL.  At the time, we didn't know that. In fact, some guy said behind me, "You can't have this guy pitching for you in the playoffs." Makes sense, he no longer has it. ‎ CC went 2.2 innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs. He walked 4.

He was followed by Rumbelow, Pinder and Shreve and it felt like a brutal game. Watching it killed me. 

The Yanks left 8 on base and were 1-8 with runners in scoring position. Not great. ‎ Put it this way, the Yankees had no "Suzyn Star" of the game. That's when you know it's bad.

The Yankees scored 3 runs to the Indians 4.  It happened like this.

The Indians scored 2 in the first.  The Yankees responded in the 3rd when, with Brian McCann at bat, Brett Gardner stole second, the catcher overthrew and Jacoby Ellsbury scored.  The Indians made it 3-1 shortly after that.  Then in the 7th, Beltran hit a ground rule double and 2 runs scored.  3-3. Nice.  I was sure the Yanks would rally after that.  Nope. I was wrong.

Dellin Betances gave up an Indians home run to make it 4-3... and the Yanks died after that.  

Now look, there's a ton of baseball to be played still, but Yankeeland is getting restless.  We want consistency and wins. We're going into September... it's kind of important now, ain't it?

Anyway... Congrats to Andy Pettitte and his family.  I tweeted his boys today:

@jaredp46 @JPettitte21 here today and the ceremony was electric. Congrats to the Old Man. #BYB

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) August 23, 2015

 It was a good day... spoiled by a loss, but damn it was great seeing Andy and his family.

Final: Indians 4 - Yankees 3

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AROD CRUSH!

Boom goes Alex Rodriguez!  Last night was big. Not only was it a great win for New York, but Alex Rodriguez hit the 25th grand slam of his career.  That's pretty amazing when you think about it.
 

It all started with a CC Sabathia outing and it was a pretty decent one I have to say.  After word spread of his incident in Toronto, and then him coming out owning it, which was the right thing to do, he took the mound and did his best to make sure the Yankees stayed in the game. 6 innings pitched, allowing just 5 hits and 4 runs. He struck out 5.  He did not get the decision last night, and there's a reason...

The Yankees scored their first run in the 4th. Greg Bird singled home Beltran.  The Twins came back to score 1.  Then in the 7th, the Twins scored 3 more. 

That's when ARod came to the plate, hitting his grand slam and putting the Yanks ahead 5-4 at that point. In the 8th, Chase Headley doubled, knocking in 2, and that was followed by Jacoby Ellsbury then singling home Headley.  In the end, Nick Rumbelow got the win, his first of the season.

Andrew Miller was there to shut the door, and get his 27th Save, and just like that, the Yankees win... nice and neat.

Final: Yankees 8 - Twins 4

 


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YANKEES DRAFT 2013: 10 ROUND RECAP

1st ROUND:

Eric Jagielo: 3B Bats: Left, Throws: Right, Value: $1,839,400

 

 

Aaron Judge: OF: Throws: Right, Bats: Left, Value: $1,677,100

Ian Clarkin: LHP: Bats: Lefty, Throws: Right, Value: $1,650,100

2nd ROUND: 

Gosuke Katoh: 2B, Bats: Left, Throws: Right, Value: $845,700

3rd ROUND:

Michael O’Neill: OF, Bats: Right, Hits: Right, Value: $500,900

4th ROUND:

Tyler Wade: SS, Bats: Left, Throws: Right, Value: $371,300

5th ROUND: 

David Palladino: RHP, Bats: Right, Throws: Left, Value: $278,100

6th ROUND:

John Murphy: SS, Bats: Left, Throws: Right, Value: $208,300

7th ROUND:

 

Nick Rumbelow: RHP, Bats: Right, Hits: Right, Value: $160,800

8th ROUND:

 

Brandon Thomas: CF, Bats: Both, Throws: Right, Value: $150,200

9th ROUND:

 

Conner Kendrick: LHP, Bats: Lefty, Throws: Right, Value: $140,200

10th ROUND: 

Tyler Webb: LHP, Bats: Right, Hits: Right, Value: $135,300

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