June 27th, 2025: Offense, Chisholm, Mailbag

UPDATE: Our recent run of excellently timed nuggets and mailbag questions continues: Andy Martino reports Spencer Jones is being promoted to Triple-A Scranton. Time to see what his swing and miss issues look like against the best pitching he's ever faced, including guys with big league time. Jones had a walk-off single Thursday night (video).

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ORIGINAL POST: It’s official: Aaron Judge is an All-Star. Phase 1 of the fan voting closed Thursday and Judge led all players in votes. He skips Phase 2 and gets an automatic starting spot. This is Judge’s seventh All-Star Game and his seventh time being voted in as a starter, though he had to skip it in 2023 because of the toe injury. Here are the Phase 1 voting results. Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice advanced to Phase 2. Goldschmidt is up against Vlad Guerrero Jr. at first base and Rice is up against Ryan O’Hearn at DH. Judge's automatic spot eliminated two outfield finalist spots, apparently, and knocked Cody Bellinger out. He was in position to advance otherwise. Womp womp. Phase 2 of the voting begins Monday. Let’s get to today’s post.

1. Weekday thoughts. The 16 games in 16 days stretch is over and the Yankees went 7-9 even though it felt a lot worse than that. Not scoring for 30 straight innings will do that. They had a +15 run differential in the 16 games too. Again, it felt a lot worse than that, and again, not scoring for 30 straight innings will do that. The Yankees have 16 games remaining before the All-Star break and all but four will be played in New York (that includes the Citi Field leg of the Subway Series). Can this team put together a strong finish to the first half? I hope so. The AL East lead is down to one in the loss column. Here are a few thoughts on the last few games.

RISP = Runners in stranded position

Monday was the June Yankees in a nutshell. They forced Reds starter Nick Lodolo to throw 69 pitches in his first three innings, and 94 pitches in 4.1 innings overall, and scored one run on a solo homer. Then of course they lost a road extra-innings game Tuesday. It’s what they do. At least they scored the automatic runner this time. First time they did that eight extra innings on the road this season. All it took was a run-scoring wild pitch.

The offense came around Wednesday and scored seven runs in the sweep-avoiding win, but even then they went 4-for-22 (.182) in runners in scoring position. Getting runners on base hasn’t been the problem. The Yankees just aren't driving guys in right now. The lack of hits is one thing, but the eye tests says the at-bats with men on have been so bad. Why are you swinging at that/why are you not swinging at that bad.

I’m not a RISP obsessor. These things typically fluctuate through the season, as frustrating as it can be. I only bring it up because, like I said, the eye test says the at-bats with men on base have been so bad lately. Collectively, the Yankees look like a team that is pressing, and that’s a bad place to be. This offensive skid started on June 12th, the 1-0 win in Kansas City. Here are the plate discipline numbers since then:

The numbers confirm the eye test. The Yankees have had crappier at-bats with runners on base the last two weeks. They’ve seen fewer pitches. They’ve chased more pitches out of the zone. They’ve swung at roughly the same number of pitches in the zone, but they've whiffed on those pitches more often. My eyes did not deceive me. The at-bat quality does nosedive once someone reaches base and a rally begins.

Why does this happen? It’s hard to say. The players look like they’re pressing, but who really knows if they are. It could just be a run of tough pitching – how about the arm on Chase Burns? – though the Red Sox, Angels, and Orioles aren’t exactly pitching powerhouses. Are the Yankees just unclutch losers? Sure, it could be that too, but they were pretty good with men on base earlier this season.

• April: .274/.365/.454 (131 wRC+)

• May: .265/.345/.451 (117 wRC+)

• June: .242/.324/.376 (97 wRC+)

The RISP funk won’t continue forever (I hope) and the more important thing is that guys are starting to hit again. Trent Grisham and Ben Rice have snapped out of their slumps. Jasson Domínguez is having better at-bats (two hits from each side of the plate Wednesday). Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been awesome since returning. It feels like Aaron Judge is in a slump, but Judge slumps are hot streaks for most players. I’m not kidding. Here are the last seven days:

Does it feel like Judge hit .308/.438/.615 (190 wRC+) over the last week? No, it hasn’t, at least not to me. Part of it is that he’s stunk with men on base lately (four solo homers and 5 RBI total in his last 15 games), but he’s also established such an insanely high baseline that performing like an All-Star instead of one of the best hitters ever is noticeable. Until further notice, I assume Judge will be a-okay.

Goldschmidt and LeMahieu, eh, things could be dicey there given their ages, though I don’t think either guy is actually this bad. Wells is really going through it right now. Volpe too, though he’s been a bit better since the 0-for-25 ended. There are still more soft spots in the lineup than I would like, but the guys the Yankees needed to start hitting have started hitting, particularly Grisham and Rice. They bat either directly in front of or directly behind Judge almost every game. They're important. Their revivals are encouraging. 

As a fan, few things in this game are as aggravated as repeated RISPFAIL, and the Yankees have put on a clinic at wasting chances the last few weeks. The tide will turn when the at-bats get better. The Yankees are chasing too much and whiffing too much, and being too impatient at the plate with runners on base lately. I think they’re collectively pressing and not irreparably broken, though that hasn’t made it any easier to watch. 

Jazz vs. Trevino

Inexcusable ejection for Chisholm on Tuesday. The umpire gave him a lot of rope, and Chisholm admitted Judge talked to him between innings and told him they need him to stay in the game, and he still got tossed. That led to Escarra playing third base and LeMahieu unnecessarily getting an at-bat later in the game. I know Jazz is a complainer, lots of guys are, but he has to be smarter than that.

On Wednesday, we learned the ejection came after old pal Jose Trevino pointed out to home plate umpire Mark Wegner that Chisholm was talking at third base, which led to the ejection. Jazz said he was talking to himself, not Wegner, but Wegner saw him talking, and tossed him. If not for Trevino, maybe Chisholm stays in the game, and maybe the Yankees pull out the extra-innings win on the road (lol).

“(I’m) down on Trevy right now,” Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch, half-joking and half-serious.

Snitching is uncool, but Trevino’s obligation is to the Reds, not his friends on the Yankees. If Trevino had done this while still with the Yankees, we’d say it was smart and heads up (while also acknowledging that snitching isn’t cool). Ultimately, Chisholm got the last laugh. He went deep Wednesday and said a little something to Trevino as he crossed the plate. The two seemed to laugh at the exchange (video).

“After what happened last night, it felt great to get a hold of one,” Chisholm told Hoch. “I watched the video and he was telling the umpire, ‘Hey, look at Jazz. I think Jazz is trying to tell you something.’ But I wasn’t. That’s just his game. We know Trevy. I thought it was pretty funny. That’s why I said it.”

The Trevino/ejection thing was kinda silly, but Chisholm does gotta cool it with the complaining. It won’t lead to umpires making calls against him, that’s not really a thing now because umpires are graded and they would only be hurting themselves, but the Yankees need him to stay in games. They’re playing one fringe big leaguer on the infield every game as it is. Please don’t get ejected anymore, Jazz.

Miscellany

At some point I should write about the Yankees nailing all their big money pitching signings. The worst since Kei Igawa/Carl Pavano is A.J. Burnett, who was instrumental to a World Series title. Carlos Rodón was headed down a bad path in 2023, but he righted the ship in 2024 and 2025. Max Fried has been a smashing instant success like CC Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka, and Gerrit Cole. With the Yankees needing a win Wednesday, Fried held the Reds to one unearned run in seven innings (video). Halfway through the first season of his eight-year, $218M contract, Fried has a 1.92 ERA (2.74 FIP) and is averaging 6.4 innings per start. Plenty of time for that contract to turn sour, but man, what a stud … I was bracing for a “Rodón gives up three homers in the game’s most homer happy ballpark” start Tuesday, but he was great again: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K (video) on 88 pitches. Rodón said he was out of gas, hence the early exit, and yeah, I get it with the heat we had. Too bad expecting the bullpen to protect a three-run lead was too much to ask. Rodón has a 2.92 ERA (3.49 FIP) and is averaging 6.0 innings per start. What a year … Mark Leiter Jr. gets zero blame for Tuesday’s loss in my book. He threw 27 pitches in a stressful inning Monday, threw a 1-2-3 tenth inning Tuesday, then went back out for the 11th because JT Brubaker was the last available guy in the bullpen. That workload (55 pitches in two days) and in that heat? He had to be on fumes … Giancarlo Stanton is 8-for-26 (.308) since returning but with a 58.8 GB%. He’s had a hard time elevating and I assume it is long layoff related. I miss Stanton dingers. I hope he runs into one soon … And finally, how many errors would Elly De La Cruz have without that official scoring in Cincinnati? Don’t get me wrong, he’s an electrifying player, but he can be an adventure at shortstop. De La Cruz leads baseball with 12 errors even though plays like this and this were scored base hits. Sheesh. 

Injury updates

Marcus Stroman (knee) made his third Double-A rehab start Tuesday: 3.2 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 K on 65 pitches. Veteran pitchers often treat rehab starts like Spring Training, where they’ll work on things rather than chase results, but yeesh. The fact Allan Winans hasn’t been sent down for a ninth reliever leads me to believe he’ll make at least one more start and Stroman will continue rehabbing. He doesn’t have to be activated until July 11th, the Friday before the All-Star break.

Up next

The three-game road trip is over and the Yankees will host the Athletics this weekend for a three-game homestand. Is it just me, or have there been a lot of one-series homestands/road trips this year? Seems inefficient. The Yankees will go from New York to Cincinnati to New York to Toronto in a nine-day span. Surely there’s a better way. Anyway, here’s what’s coming up:

• Friday vs. A’s: RHP Will Warren vs. RHP Mitch Spence (7pm ET on YES)

• Saturday vs. A’s: RHP Clarke Schmidt vs LHP JP Sears (1pm ET on YES)

• Sunday vs. A’s: TBA vs. RHP Luis Severino (1:30pm ET on YES)

• Monday at Blue Jays: TBA vs. TBA (7pm ET on YES)

(Sunday’s TBA is the Stroman/Winans/Ryan Yarbrough spot. Monday’s matchup lines to be Rodón vs. Max Scherzer, who allowed three runs in five innings in his first start back from a lengthy thumb injury earlier this week.)

The Yankees used Thursday’s off-day to flip Warren and Schmidt. Boone said Schmidt was slow to recover between starts the last two times out, so they gave him extra rest. Warren will pitch on normal rest Friday and Schmidt with two extra days Saturday. Schmidt threw seven no-hit innings despite a poor recovery last time out, so it can’t be that bad. Still, gotta be careful. The Yankees need him. 

That Blue Jays series, a four-gamer north of the border, is pretty important. Toronto has crept to within two games in the loss column in the AL East. This is their chance to really vault into the division race. It’s also a chance for the Yankees to maybe not bury them completely, but at least push the Blue Jays further back in the rear-view mirror. An important late June/early July series, that one is.

As for the Athletics, don’t underestimate them. They had a wretched 1-20 stretch last month (it started a few days after the Yankees left Sacramento) but are 32-30 outside that, and they’ve played .500-ish ball on the road all season. The top of their lineup is pretty good (this is from Wednesday’s box score, they sat a bunch of regulars Thursday) …

… and their pitching away from Sacramento is respectable. Also, how about those pitching matchups? Three former Yankees/Yankees prospects starting the three games for the A’s. I’m sure the takes will be measured if the Yankees lose a game or three. Sunday will be Severino’s first game back in the Bronx. The Yankees gave Kyle Higashioka a tribute video a few weeks ago. Sevy better get one too.

2. 2025 draft prospect: Wake Forest OF Ethan Conrad. The 2025 MLB Draft will take place during the All-Star break and the Yankees hold the No. 39 pick. Here are the draft prospects I’ve already profiled. Some are players the Yankees are reported to have interest in, some are players who fit the team’s M.O., and some are players I like for whatever reason. We’re covering a little of everything.

Conrad, 21 next week, is a local kid from Poughkeepsie who started his career at Marist College before transferring to Wake Forest this year. He mashed in 21 games (.372/.495/.744 with seven homers, 18 walks, and 14 strikeouts) before wrecking his shoulder diving for a ball on March 15th. After attempting to rehab the injury, Conrad had season-ending surgery on April 10th. Here’s where he sits in the latest draft prospect rankings. Some of these are weeks old and don’t reflect the injury:

• Baseball America (subs. req’d): No. 22

• ESPN (subs. req’d): No. 25

• FanGraphs: Unranked

• MLB Pipeline: No. 28

• Keith Law (subs. req’d): No. 30

Conrad checked the Cape Cod League box last summer (.385/.433/.486 in 30 games) and, according to Jacob Rudner, Yankees team doctor Dr. Christopher Ahmad performed his shoulder surgery. Does that give the team any added insight into his injury and recovery? Not sure how that works. Anywhere, here’s video and here is a snippet of MLB Pipeline’s free scouting report:

Conrad makes repeated contact with a simple left-handed swing and gap-to-gap approach. He's an aggressive hitter who chases all types of pitches out of the zone, yet his uncanny hand-eye coordination helps him compensate. A physical 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, he has the strength and solid bat speed to provide at least average power, though there are some concerns that he doesn't drive balls in the air to his pull side very often.

Conrad is a threat to steal and will flash some plus run times, but his speed plays more as solid. Though he spent most of his sophomore season at first base, he covers plenty of ground on the outfield corners and is capable in center field. He has average arm strength and probably fits best in right field.

Before his injury, Conrad was trending toward being a middle of the first round pick, and that’s not going to happen now. There are lots of similar second tier college hitters in this draft class and almost all of them other than Conrad are healthy. For what it’s worth, he hasn’t popped up in any first round mock drafts the last few weeks, and at this stage of the game, the mocks are informed, not speculative.

The injury could give the Yankees a chance to land a player who not too long ago had little chance to be on the board for them at No. 39. It’s a major injury and that’s always a concern, but Conrad’s track record against quality competition is short (short as in he simply hasn’t faced much). Still, if you think he can play center and think you can unlock his power, it’s easy to buy into Conrad as an exciting prospect.

Mailbag Questions of the Week

Several asked: What about Jeimer Candelario?

The Reds bit the bullet and DFAed Candelario just as the Yankees rolled into Cincinnati earlier this week. That move opened up a 40-man roster spot for Chase Burns, who was electric against the Yankees the first time through the order (1-for-9 with seven strikeouts) and not so much thereafter (6-for-12 with a triple and a homer). A back injury limited Candelario to 22 games this year. He was so, so bad in his two years as a Red: .207/.265/.394 (74 wRC+) and -1.6 WAR in only 134 games. Yeesh.

Candelario, who is still somehow only 31, has 1.5 years and about $22.5M remaining on his contract. The money ensures he will clear waivers and become a free agent. Any team will be able to sign him for the prorated portion of the league minimum once that all happens. The Reds, who entered the season ranked 23rd in payroll and have 13% of their 2025 payroll committed to Candelario, are on the hook for the rest of his money.

I don’t think the Yankees could sign Candelario and plug him into their lineup, even as a platoon guy. He hasn’t been an adequate defensive third baseman in years, plus he just can’t hit anymore*. His approach can come apart, his exit velocity is way down, he’s putting the ball on the ground a ton, etc. Minor league contract? Sure, whatever, but I don’t think he’s an upgrade over DJ LeMahieu right now.

* I would have said exactly this about Matt Carpenter a few years ago, so what do I know.

Alessandro asks: You answered a question about Jazz’s free agency last week and it got me thinking: what does a contract look like for him? My first thought was around 5/90, which means the asking price would probably be 5/110-120 or more years. That seems…right? Do you think the Yankees would go there? Or does the presence of Volpe + Lombard make them not want to commit long term to 3 IFs

I love Jazz Chisholm Jr. He’s very fun and I am pro-fun. He does fit into that “don’t sign good but not great players to long-term contracts” bucket I always harp on though. Chisholm’s had injuries, he does swing and miss a bunch, and his game will suffer once his speed slips with age. I love Jazz in 2025. Will I love his game in 2029? Ehhh, probably not. I’m cool with the Yankees playing out this year and next, then seeing where things sit with Chisholm when he becomes a free agent (unless he's willing to take a sweetheart deal).

To answer the question, can’t you argue Chisholm deserves something close to the Willy Adames contract (seven years and $182M)? The big differences between the two are injury history and position, though Adames’ defense has dipped enough that there were questions about how much longer he’d remain at shortstop two years ago. Their offense though, it’s similar. Here is 2024-25 Jazz and Adames’ last two years before free agency:

• Chisholm: .243/.327/.441 (114 wRC+) with 25.6 K%, 9.2 BB% (25 HR and 36 SB per 600 PA)

• Adames: .235/.321/.436 (107 wRC+) with 25.5 K%, 10.9 BB% (25 HR and 12 SB per 600 PA)

Adames became a free agent going into his age 29 season. Chisholm will be a free agent going into his age 29 season. They match up well, statistically. Jazz’s injuries will keep him from getting the Adames contract – I think you could argue Chisholm is a much better defender at second than Adames is at short at this point – but they’re similar players on a rate basis. 

Seven years and $182M is $26M per year. Five years at that salary is $130M total. Scale it down a bit for the injury history and because the Giants had to overpay to get Adames (and every other position player free agent), and sure, the five years and $110M to $120M suggestion seems about right. It might sound crazy now, but there are so few good middle infielders set to hit the market the next few years. Position scarcity will work in Chisholm’s favor.

And maybe that’s an argument for re-signing him. Who’s playing the infield for the Yankees in two years? Even if Anthony Volpe figures it out and George Lombard Jr. is everything he’s cracked up to be, there is still another infield position to fill. (I can’t imagine we’ll still be talking about Oswaldo Cabrera as a starting infielder come 2027.) I love Chisholm as a player. He’s so fun. But I do have longer term concerns and would be okay walking away after next season, not that replacing him will be easy.

Greg asks: why does it feel like cam schlittler is destined to be a 2nd piece of a trade deadline deal rather than a viable option for a thin mlb rotation? Yankees MO recently seems to be build up back of the rotation starters and then flip em. 

I think you answered your own question. It feels like Schlittler is destined to be a trade chip because the Yankees typically build up back-end starter prospects, then flip them. The notable exception is Mike King, who went for literally Juan Soto. Jhony Brito, Richard Fitts, Luis Medina, JP Sears, Randy Vásquez, Ken Waldichuk, Hayden Wesneski, and others fit into the back-end bucket.

(The Yankees supposedly made Will Warren available to the Cubs in Cody Bellinger trade talks if Chicago ate a bunch of money, which they did not. Try not to imagine a world where the Yankees trade Warren for Bellinger, then use the money on Walker Buehler, who they had interest in over the winter. Eek.)

Schlittler’s been awesome this year: 2.18 ERA (2.36 FIP) with 33.0 K% and 8.5 BB% in 74.1 innings, and he’s been as good in Triple-A as he was in Double-A. My sense is the Yankees really do like him. He’s not off-limits, obviously, but I think Schlittler’s in the “we really like this kid and aren’t eager to use him as trade ammo” bucket that King, Luis Gil, and Clarke Schmidt were in once upon a time.

There are 40-man roster considerations in play, but I think the Yankees see Schlittler as a plug-and-play starter if a need arises. Maybe it would have been him instead of Allan Winans earlier this week had the days lined up better. Probably not for 40-man reasons, but maybe. Schlittler is tradeable for an impact piece, for sure, but I get the sense the Yankees really like him and would prefer to keep him.

(Schlittler moved into Baseball America's top 100 list when Nick Kurtz graduated the other day. He's No. 100.)

Brian asks: Do you think the Yankees will not promote Spencer Jones to AAA before the deadline because they are afraid if he struggles at AAA it could lower his value?

Nah, I don’t think they're scared of that. I think we’ll see Jones get the bump up to Scranton before the deadline. He’s still striking out a lot (34.0%), but he’s up to .271/.389/.600 (185 wRC+) with 16 homers, including .315/.398/.658 (202 wRC+) in 20 games since returning from the intercostal injury. If the Yankees are concerned his swing and miss issues will get exposed in Triple-A, other teams have the same concerns, and they will be baked into his trade value. Teams try to use good/bad performance to raise/lower a player’s trade value all the time, though it doesn’t really work that way. Teams value players more on the underlying stuff than his surface stats. I don’t think trade value has anything to do with Jones still being in Double-A, and I expect him to move up to Tripe-A fairly soon.

Dan asks: Since Cashman has shown a preference for trading guys who need to be added to the 40-man after the current season, can you provide a list of Yankees minor leaguers who fit that bill and might be on the move this year?

This will double as a trade chip list and early Rule 5 Draft preview. This offseason projects to be very busy on the 40-man roster add/Rule 5 Draft protection front. Here are the notable Yankees’ minor leaguers who have to go on the 40-man after this season:

• Catchers: Rafael Flores

• Infielders: TJ Rumfield

• Outfielders: Jace Avina, Spencer Jones

• Righties: Brendan Beck, Chase Hampton, Eric Reyzelman, Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, Cam Schlittler, Trystan Vrieling

• Lefties: Henry Lalane, Brock Selvidge

I count five players who definitely will be added to the 40-man after the season (Flores, Hampton, Jones, Rodriguez-Cruz, Schlittler) and one likely add (Selvidge). Hampton hasn’t been healthy in two years and is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, but he was really exciting before the injuries set in, and I’m sure a team would Rule 5 him in the offseason. Pick him, take your time rehabbing him, profit.

Lalane is one of the most talented pitchers in the system, but he’s had shoulder trouble the last two years, he hasn’t pitched at all this season, and he has three starts out of rookie ball. I don’t think he’s likely to get picked in the Rule 5 Draft and the Yankees, a team that is trying to win the World Series every year, can’t tie up a 40-man spot on that player, you know? Lalane is nowhere close to helping at the MLB level.

The Rule 5 Draft eligible players the Yankees tend to trade each year are the Beck, Rumfield, Vrieling types. Players who figure to have some big league utility but aren’t difference-makers, don’t really have a role with the Yankees beyond up/down depth, and stand a good chance to get taken in the Rule 5 Draft. Jack Neely and Ben Cowles (Mark Leiter Jr. trade) were in that same bucket last year. 

(Go look at what Neely and Cowles are doing this year. Reminder to never freak out over trading Grade-C prospects.)

I’ll have a full trade deadline preview soon (maybe Tuesday but no promises) and will cover the players and prospects the Yankees could move then. That’s who has to go on the 40-man roster after the season though. It’s a lot of players and a lot of top 30 caliber prospects. Moving one or two or more of them to ease the logjam seems possible, if not necessary. 40-man spots are a finite resource.

John asks: This season, YES and the national broadcasts have shown how several of opponents' star players (i.e. Jose Ramirez with CLE, Rafael Devers with BOS, Mike Trout with LAA) have noteworthy career stats vs. the Yankees all time.  I know, star players play like stars, news at 11.  And it's got me thinking...how many of baseball's "stars" actually have noteworthy BELOW average to POOR all time career stats against NYY.  I know it is subjective to qualify who a "star" is, but it feels like whoever the opposing team is, their biggest bat always has fared exceptionally well against the Yankees' pitching.  Which big time players (currently playing or retired) have not?

Any guesses on who is the active leader in plate appearances against the Yankees? It’s not some rando, obviously, and it’s not Rafael Devers either. My first guess was Manny Machado, but he’s been out of the AL East too long. It’s Xander Bogaerts. He’s been a middling hitter against the Yankees too: .259/.311/.410 compared to his career .287/.351/.446 line.

Here are the active players with the most plate appearances against the Yankees. The most notable Yankee anti-Killer is Alex Bregman. He’s a .206/.307/.327 hitter against the Yankees. Freddie Freeman is a .196/.316/.351 hitter against the Yankees in the regular season (the less said about the postseason, the better). Scrolling through that list, some underperforming stars I see are Marcus Semien (.685 OPS), Matt Chapman (.645 OPS), Steven Kwan (.570 OPS – yes, really), Bryce Harper (.712 OPS), Corey Seager (.554 OPS), and Julio Rodríguez (.590 OPS).

Here’s the all-time plate appearances against the Yankees leaderboard. Just eyeballing it, some notables who didn’t do much damage against the Yankees include Brooks Robinson (.708 OPS), Sal Bando (.689 OPS), and Jim Fregosi (.675 OPS). There aren’t many (or any) big bat Hall of Famers who didn’t perform against the Yankees. I guess when you’re that good and you get that many opportunities, water will find its level and the numbers will be there in the end.

Mike asks: In a recent newsletter you mentioned that with one day in the big leagues a player qualifies for MLBPA’s healthcare for life. That got me wondering, what are other benefits do players get? What are the dues structure?

Dues were $85 per day as of 2022. Among other things, union members get health insurance, life insurance, a 401(k), and licensing money (cards, video games, etc.). As I understand it, the licensing money more than makes up for the dues for full-time big leaguers. After 43 days of service time, you qualify for the union’s pension plan, which fully vests at 10 years of service time. The full pension is around $265,000 a year if the player waits until age 62 to tap in (less if he begins earlier or doesn’t get to 10 years of service time). Years ago Brendan Kuty wrote about the benefits of spending even one day in the big leagues. The big thing is health insurance. One day of service time gives the player access to the MLBPA’s health care plan for him and his family for life. He has to pay for it, but as I understand it, it’s reasonably priced and great coverage. For a fringe big leaguer, one day in the show can be life-changing, and not just because one day of MLB pay is more than most guys will make in a month in the minors.

(Send your requests for Friday's mailbag to RABmailbag at gmail dot com. The random Yankee series is on hiatus, but feel free to send in requests for when it returns.)