THE YANKS ARE STOCKPILING FOR THEIR PITCHING NEEDS

Stockpiling pitching is a good thing. I have always believed that.  Collecting youth to build a solid farm system, AND stockpiling pitching is better.  Cashman is doing everything right the last few days.

The latest comes for the Yankees PR department.  We just picked up a lefty in Reiver Sanmartin from the Texas Rangers in exchange for righty Ronald Herrera.

The @Yankees today announced they acquired minor league LHP Reiver Sanmartin from Texas in exchange for RHP Ronald Herrera.

— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) November 20, 2017

Sanmartin is a lefty which is a bonus, he's Columbian and his numbers are OK with a 2.27 ERA in the minor leagues last year for Spokane. He's also only 21 years old. I love this.

Just wanted to keep you all in the loop here at BYB. 

Yanks are making moves. 2 minor league lefties in 2 days.

CESSA. THE OTHER GUY ON THE 40 MAN ROSTER

(Oct. 1, 2016 - Source: Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America)

While everyone wants Chance Adams to come to the Bigs, there are obstacles. I'm pretty positive that everyone that reads Bleeding Yankee Blue knows that by now.  There needs to be spot for him, and there just isn't, but no question a spot could open up at any moment.

But in the world of wait, CC Sabathia is hurt, and while Ronald Herrera came in in relief the other night and got a Yankee loss, you can't knock his courage and nod by the New York Yankees.  While I didn't care for allowing a AA pitcher make his debut, he did and it didn't go well.  It doesn't mean it won't in the future... it just means it didn't go well right then.

But CC does need to be replaced in the starting rotation.  And one guy that many do a good job is a guy with major league experience... it's Luis Cessa.

Sept. 21, 2016 - Source: Mike Carlson/Getty Images North America

NJ.com has a good piece about him here.  Here's a portion:

"The Yankees tentatively have decided right-hander Luis Cessa will take injured left-hander CC Sabathia’s next turn.

Cessa, who struggled this spring while competing for a rotation spot, was called up from Triple-A on Thursday and will start a game this weekend in Oakland if he’s not needed in relief earlier.

'We’re looking at him possibly starting Saturday or Sunday for us,' manager Joe Girardi saids. 'But a lot of this is based on what we need over the next couple days.'

Photo: Getty Images

Cessa, 25, was 4-4 with a 4.44 ERA as a rookie pitching for the 2016 Yankees, including 2-4 with a 4.01 ERA in nine starts. He pitched one for the Yankees this season during a one-day call-up on May 1. In Triple-A, he’s just 3-6 with a 4.15 ERA in 11 games, 10 as a starter, but he’s pitched to a 2.25 ERA over his last three starts.

'He’s thrown a lot better his last two starts,' Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. 'It seems like his command has gotten better.'"

Cessa is the man now folks.  I see him as a better option right now than any other pitcher that they need to call up... and yes... I'm still hoping there's a spot for Chance Adams soon.

RONALD HERRERA WAS A BAD CHOICE

Photo: Getty Images

There are many prospects at the Triple A level ready to perform in the Bigs for the New York Yankees. Why Ronald Herrera, a double A pitcher? Why now? No one knows...

Look, I'm not saying I don't want the kids promoted, bring it! I'm just saying there are others that have been chomping at the bit and others that we've been talking about right here at BYB, willing, able and longing to be up in the Bigs.  I'm seriously not getting this. The only thing I can think of is they are showing off Herrera as part of a July package to ship off at the deadline.  Well, all it shows is that he's a pitcher, and he lost the game for the Yanks.   Whatever man... the Yanks lost.

The New York Post writes:

"...after Michael Pineda grinded through an ugly beginning to give the Yankees six innings, and with the game tied at 5-5, Girardi turned to the 22-year-old Herrera for a most high-leverage introduction to the big time.

Photo: MiLB.com

'That’s really what I had,' Girardi said. 'Obviously, we’ll get some guys tomorrow. But that’s what it was today.' 

Thanks to Tuesday night’s 11-inning loss to the Angels in which Sabathia departed after the fourth and a Sunday “bullpen day” victory over the Orioles in which starter Chad Green recorded only six outs, Girardi felt compelled to rest Green (who could start Saturday in Oakland as Sabathia’s replacement) Jonathan Holder, Chasen Shreve and Adam Warren. He might have turned to Tyler Clippard, who pitched the prior two nights, if the Yankees held a lead in the eighth, Girardi said. And closer Dellin Betances, who didn’t pitch but did warm up Tuesday, would’ve closed.

'I can’t ask Dellin to give me nine outs,' Girardi said. 'Maybe it was 2015 or ‘14, I could’ve done that.'”

Photo: Getty Images

I'm not sure I'm buying this garbage from Girardi. I mean sure, it's all he had, but the decision to have him in the first place makes zero sense.

I feel bad for Herrera.  Not his fault, and while I appreciate the courage, I almost feel like it was a setup.

Chance Adams anyone?

DOUBTFUL CC WILL BE BACK BEFORE TRADE DEADLINE

Talk about deja vu all over again.  It was only seven days ago I wrote:

Photo: Getty Images

"...Between expected innings limits and unexpected injuries, we're going to be losing more pitchers in this rotation before this season's over,  you can bank on it."

Read DON'T TANK THE SEASON FOR TANAKA, JOE to get up to speed.

Photo: Getty Images

Thanks to Chris Carter missing an easy head-high throw from Didi Gregorious any hot dog vendor in the stands could've caught in a bun with mustard, relish and kraut, CC Sabathia was forced to pitch an extra 9 pitches Tuesday to close out an extended 4th inning and wound up with a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring.

If you recall, that was the same injury they said in 2013 had an approximate recovery time of eight weeks when they shut him down for the season.

You may also recall that was the last year he came close to pitching 200 innings. 2013.

He's four years older now so don't go buying into any of his or Joe's: "I'm already feeling better. I could be back sooner." "Maybe, we'll see how he responds to treatment." banter. It's just for show.

Between the million miles on his arm and the million pounds of pounding those knees have endured over nearly two decades of pro ball,  he'll be fortunate to be pitching rehab games in eight weeks, and  luckier still to be all the way back and throwing like he was  before he went down for awhile after that -- if he can recapture the mechanics and feel for it again at all.

Remember, it wasn't a quick or easy process -- mentally or physically -- for him to acquire his newfound talent as an aging junk-baller in the first place.

With just seven weeks to go until the trade deadline, there are some cold hard facts the Yankees' fan base and front office must confront head-on and accept as fait accompli.

Photo: Getty Images

First,  it's my opinion that he big guy is unemployable anywhere else. His niche as a steady innings-eater on this team as currently constituted has value though. And while he'd never be part of any playoff rotation if the Yankees got that far in this, his final season, the team must resist any temptation to rush him back any  sooner than necessary lest they risk losing the remaining innings he may have left in him for the second half stretch run.

Second, while the farm is filled with all sorts of tantalizing possibilities for fill-ins, none of them can reasonably be expected walk onto the big stage this season and gobble innings the rest of the way like  CC has been because, quite frankly, it's been his huge salary that's kept him on the mound whenever he's gotten into trouble, been shelled early, relinquished leads or hasn't had his stuff and been roughed up inning after inning. Nor can a farmhand be reasonably expected to  seize the front of the rotation and become the ace the team has clearly lacked.

Photo: Getty Images

Severino's been a nice surprise; even a possible solid  #2 at this point. But an ace who's only pitched beyond the 7th twice? Don't even go there.

Photo: Getty Images

Third, Tanaka to date has still declined to see a specialist, undergo an MRI or even concede he's feeling any differently than, say, before his elbow is was hanging on by a partially torn UCL, willpower and a magic 8-ball.  And Monday's 6.2-inning no-decision vs. the Angels didn't prove anything definitive as he remains 1-5 with a 10.13 ERA in seven starts against opponents with winning percentages of .500-plus compared to 4-1 with a 2.88 ERA in six starts against sub-.500 clubs. (Thanks to Mike Mazzeo at the Daily News for those chilling numbers.) Now it seems he can only pitch on at least six days rest. (Remember in Japan he only pitched once a week and has said he prefers higher pitch counts and more rest days.) He remains a starter in name only until evidence suggests otherwise and may actually be moving the team toward a six-starter rotation by default if he can no longer go on five days rest.

Fourth and finally, there's now a huge CC-sized hole in the rotation that used to belong to a guy who isn't what he used to be and will be lucky to  resume being what he's become when he eventually returns.

Photo: Getty Images

Meanwhile, the losses mount and  opportunities to run away from the division keep slipping away because the bullpen that was supposed to be the bulwark against the team's thin rotation and short starts is "pretty fried," said Joe before Thursday night's LA series finale -- and just a few hours later it flared up in the frying pan and burned yet another winnable Yankee win and series to a cinder...

Welcome to the Bigs, Ronald Herrera.

It's been awhile since anyone talked about keeping pace with that remarkable 1998 Yankee season that started 1-4 like this one. We're nine games off the pace, in case you were curious. And longer still since anyone's even talked about finishing with the best record in MLB. We're not even in the top five anymore.

Now everyone's just satisfied to be having fun watching a younger version of the Yankees having fun themselves, playing ball like they really enjoy the game as they hover in first place while the rest of the division reels and struggles to recover from all manner of unexpected blows.

In fact, it's been a fun season all the way around so far -- for a rebuilding year.

For it to be anything more than that, though, it's going to take some serious prospecting, prospects, cash and commitment on the part of Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner. Because unless they decide to take a full-on Judge-sized swing at giving this rotation what it sorely lacks to go for it all in this very winnable there-for-the-taking MLB season, the fun ends promptly after the 9th inning of game 162.

Two more quality arms and this team can start its new  dynasty right now. One's  a waste of time. This team needs to invest in at least two because  for all intents and purposes we're two starters down now,  have no tangible reason to believe either  is going to actually be any healthier  or more effective going forward (and very real concerns the opposite may be true) and, as I wrote last week, we're still likely to lose at least one more before it's all over to injury or innings limits.

And you need three quality starters to go all the way. This team's got one.

Photo: New York Daily News

If you're one of the great worriers about playing poker with the team's future to win a championship now, get over it. Hicks has made Clint Frazier 150 percent expendable. That's one nice juicy trade chip we can lose right there. And he's not even  the best outfield prospect we've got.

Truth be told, there's a bunch of others who are so blocked from the show by the talent now in our farm system  or in the Bronx it's a crime against humanity not to trade them. And we can always sell off those quality arms for prospects ourselves if our farm gets lucky down the road.

But opportunities like this don't present themselves often. Admit it. Wouldn't a world championship parade this year be fun? All we have to do is buy a couple of tickets. It's what world champions do. Or we can just watch our rotation fall short like we expected it to from the beginning with no realistic plan or expectations for better pitching next year.

That's no way to start a dynasty and way too much deja vu for me.

--Barry Millman
BYB Writer
Follow me on Twitter: @nyyankeefanfore

MURPHY, HICKS & KNOWING WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT

There's always good and bad points made when trades happen.  As many of you know, Jose Pirela and JR Murphy were traded today.  Pirela went to San Diego for righty Ronald Herrera. JR Murphy went to the Twins for Aaron Hicks, an outfielder.

On it's surface, Yankee fans are sad to see our guys go, which is perfectly normal and here's why; Yankee fans over the past 4 to 5 years, and as long as I'm heading BYB...root hard for "our kids".  When our kids go, we feel as though they weren't given enough time.  That's the bottom line.

Pirela was drafted as a SS and eventually was a second baseman and did some outfield work for the Yanks.  But at 25, the once Top Prospect was now just a kid that the Yankees needed to flip.  And yes, he was a Top Prospect.  Not our words, Newsday's words, read HERE... MLB's words, see below...



Bottom line, it would have been nice to see Pirela blossom in pinstripes, but he'll be fine in San Diego.

The Yankees get Ronald Herrera, a righty. A decent pitcher and someone the Yankees will definitely use. Bottom line, he will grow.. Breaking down Brendan Kuty's piece in NJ.com, "IS HE ANY GOOD? Before the 2014 season, Baseball America and MLB.com each ranked Herrera, of Venezuela, in the Oakland A's top 20 prospects. Then Oakland traded him to the Mariners for a player to be named later in May 2014. MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo once said Herrera's fastball reached 94 mph and he's got a solid curveball, possessing the makings of a "solid big league starter" at some point. He earned Texas League Pitcher of the Week honors once in 2015."

Then there was JR Murphy, the back up to Brian McCann that, let's be honest, may have stuck around if Gary Sanchez wasn't tearing up the Arizona Fall League right about now.  We get Aaron Hicks in return, who has decent defensive skills and definitely someone that will be utilized in our outfield. I'm excited about him to be honest.

ESPN writes: "Hicks, 26, could serve as a fourth outfielder, the job held this past season by Chris Young, now a free agent. But it also could be the precursor to a bigger move; the Yankees might be shopping Brett Gardner, according to reports out of the GMs meetings in Boca Raton, Florida, this week.

Gardner, an eight-year veteran who is second only to Alex Rodriguez in length of service with the Yankees, was their starting left-fielder and one of two position-player All-Stars in 2015...Hicks, a switch-hitter, has played in parts of three big league seasons for the Twins, who made him the No. 14 overall pick in the 2008 amateur draft.

His best season came in 2015, when he hit .256 with 11 home runs and 33 RBIs in 97 games, 88 of them in center field."

There is definitely growth and an upside to having Hicks on the Yankees.  And the good thing about Bleeding Yankee Blue is we have all opinions here. Ike Dimitriadis   wrote PIRELA AND MURPHY ... GONE! today. His glaring point was the following when speaking of the parting of Murph and Pirela:

"Both players were popular in the clubhouse and the fans, so you’re not alone if these don’t sit well with you."

The opinion is valid and his own and I applaud that because it goes back to what I said earlier.  Many Yankee fans want to see our guys grow, not traded away. It's very personal with us.  But let's keep it real, they are opinions and that's what makes BYB different from every other publication out there. My writers all have different takes on different stories.

I was annoyed by a snarky unneeded comment today on BYB:

"...it's always the same story here - trade marginal prospects and you guys are up in arms. You can also never give cashman any credit. I remember on this site when Nuno was traded it was like they traded the second coming of Ron Guidry."

First of all, if you really read us regularly sir, you'd know a few things.  Ron Guidry is a God to me and while Vidal Nuno was decent, he was no Ron Guidry.  What he was, was a lefty pitcher, and me being a lefty myself, I instantly an consumed because I appreciate the southpaw and ALWAYS root for them. Your wise ass comment is ridiculous and wrong.

Secondly, BYB has all opinions... ALL OPINIONS.  We have a story about Stephen Strasburg and how BYB writer Dan Lucia wants him in pinstripes... BADLY I might add, read HERE.  Tomorrow Mike O'Hara has a counterpoint argument. He doesn't want the guy.   We do that with Mark Teixeira, with Joe Girardi, Brian Cashman, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner... what the hell are you reading that you're so wrong?

Bottom line... I like that we moved JR Murphy for Aaron Hicks... Ike doesn't, but tomorrow we get up and work together on some more posts for the BYB audience to read.  That's because we don't take this stuff as seriously as brain surgery. It's baseball... it's the rumor mill... it's a fucking game, bra.  Chill.

To Herrera... to Hicks... welcome to the Bronx.  To Murphy and Pirela... good luck. You were good soldiers in New York, but it's time to turn the page.

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!

PIRELA AND MURPHY ... GONE!

Brian Cashman didn’t wait long to start making moves. There were two big announcements today – the Yankees traded John Ryan Murphy to the Minnesota Twins for outfielder Aaron Hicks and Jose Pirela to the San Diego Padres for right-handed pitching prospect Ronald Herrera. Both players were popular in the clubhouse and the fans, so you’re not alone if these don’t sit well with you.

Aaron Hicks is a 26-year old centerfielder with 3 years’ experience at the major league level. He holds a career batting average of .225. 2015 was his breakout year, where he got his average above .250, his OPS over .700, and got into almost 100 games. Note sarcasm. Seriously, though, he is a decent fielder with a career .995 fielding percentage and above average range. He looks like a solid late-inning defensive replacement. For which we traded the guy that Joe Girardi said would be part of a good catcher tandem with Brian McCann, just yesterday. Yeah.

On the other half of the story, in Ronald Herrera we get a 20-year old right-handed pitcher who has not seen major league action yet but has completed 4 years in the minors at various levels. He finished the season last year at the AA level San Antonio Missions with a 3-1 record, a 4.53 ERA, and a .1420 WHIP. Minor league pitchers sometimes have potential that coaches have to see while the kid is pitching, and maybe that’s the case here, but the numbers just don’t tell that story. Remember, we gave up a top 2B/OF prospect for him.

There is some thought being published out there that acquiring Hicks sets up a Brett Gardner trade. If that were the case, wouldn’t you want an everyday outfielder? Rumors kicked up earlier today about trade talks with the Mariners. Unless King Felix is in the mix, I don’t see how the Yankees end the day in the positive. I am trying to maintain some journalistic impartiality here, but it’s beyond me at the moment. These deals just suck.

Anyway, that’s the news. Carry on.

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






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!