February 21st, 2025: Boone, Wells, Beeter, Schmidt, Hampton, Spring Storylines, Mailbag

Welcome to the final RAB post without some form of Yankees baseball until hopefully sometime in early November. They’ll play their first Spring Training game this afternoon. It’s a home game too, so they’ll wear the pinstripes like they do for the spring home opener each year, and we’ll see a good number of regulars in the lineup to mark the occasion. Here is today’s post and here’s the first episode of Weav’s World (Anthony Volpe looks kinda jacked, no?).

1. Yankees extend Boone. For whatever reason the Yankees abandoned their policy of waiting until a contract expires to discuss a new one to lock up Aaron Boone. The Yankees announced a new two-year extension for Boone earlier this week, formalizing something Brian Cashman said they wanted to wrap up before Opening Day. The extension takes Boone through 2027, which would be his tenth – tenth! – year on the job.

“Knowing that it’s not just a one and done thing, that we've got him for a couple years, we can really build off what we do this year and the next couple years,” Aaron Judge told Gary Phillips about Boone's extension. “We've got so many different personalities that come through here and different egos, different guys that have won MVPs, won Cy Youngs, this and that. To bring us all together, he does such a good job at that."

Boone, 52 next month, has won three AL East titles (2019, 2022, 2024) and one pennant (2024) in his seven years as Yankees manager. The team is 603-429 (.584) under his watch, which is a 95-win pace across 162 games. He’s seventh in both managerial wins (603) and games managed (1,032) in franchise history. He is also, by far, the leader in games managed without a World Series title:

1. Aaron Boone: 1,032 (2018 to present)
2. Buck Showalter: 582 (1992-95)
3. Bill Donovan: 465 (1915-17)
4. Lou Piniella: 417 (1986-88)
5. Yogi Berra: 342 (1964, 1984-85)

It’s harder to win the World Series now than ever before. You have to go through more postseason rounds, there’s no reserve clause, you have to share revenue, etc. That said, unless the Yankees win the 2025 World Series, by the end of the season Boone will have managed more than twice as many games as any other ringless Yankees manager. At some point that’s your legacy. Not being able to win with the winningest franchise in North American pro sports.

"I don't like that we haven't won a championship yet, so that bothers me,” Boone told Phillips after signing his extension. “But I know what I signed up for when I got into this. I wouldn't want it any other way. The fact that it matters as much as it does here and that there's such a high standard and there's so many expectations, that beats the alternative so much."

Boone is a boringly competent manager. One who won’t sink a team’s season through bad moves and poor clubhouse skills, but also not one who will elevate his team and get the most out of his players. Not unless they are 6-foot-7 and look like they're chiseled out of marble. The Yankees are painfully sloppy and they can’t develop hitters, and when the manager has been in charge as long as Boone, he deserves a share of blame. Certainly for the former, and you have to assign him some blame for the latter too.

The players love Boone, he’s an expert at handling the media, he has “I played the game and am a third generation big leaguer” gravitas, and he does what the front office wants with little fuss. He is a baseball automaton. Good enough for this good enough is good enough version of the Yankees. There is definitely something to be said for organization stability, but I worry the Yankees have crossed the line from stable to stagnant.

2. Spring Training news and notes. Didi Gregorius was in Yankees’ camp earlier this week. Always an avid photographer, he had a media credential and was running around taking pictures Wednesday (he posted them on Instagram), then Thursday he was in uniform as a guest instructor. Now 35, Sir Didi hit .262/.363/.410 in the Mexican League last year. Maybe have him take ground balls at third base since he’s already in camp? Only half-joking, I am. Here’s the latest from Tampa.

Wells being brought along slowly

The Yankees are so cagey with injury updates that I can’t help but be skeptical anytime they say this guy is totally fine, trust us, we’re just bringing him along slowly. That’s the story with Austin Wells right now. After last year’s workload, the Yankees are taking things slowly with their starting catcher this spring. Wells won’t get into Grapefruit League games until the first week of March.

“It’s just how much (he) played down the stretch and having never been down the stretch,” Aaron Boone told Gary Phillips earlier this week. “He’s in a great spot and he’s doing everything he needs to be ready. I’ve told him I want to slow play it a little bit, so let’s move accordingly. Hopefully going through all that will better equip him and better build him up to go the long haul this year.”

What made me skeptical about Wells being healthy was the fact he stopped swinging a bat for a few days, and didn’t participate in popup drills earlier this week. He wasn’t shut down completely, he was still catching bullpens and live BP, and standing in the box to track pitches, but he wasn’t actually swinging a bat. The Yankees weren’t worried about Wells getting hit by a pitch and making something worse. He also wasn’t swinging. Weird.

Anyway, Wells resumed swinging Thursday, when he took live BP and hit a homer off Ian Hamilton. Good news for Wells? Bad news for Hamilton? Such is the juxtaposition of intrasquad action. For real though, it’s impossible to get a straight answer from the Yankees about an injury, so when they said Wells was being slow played and not swinging, I was skeptical. Fortunately, he’s resumed swinging. Looks like the Yankees told the truth about his health (this time).

“I’m just not ready yet,” Wells told Phillips last weekend. “I was hitting higher speed stuff (off a pitching machine) toward the end of this week. Just preparing for the games probably the week after they start. Just taking it slow.”

Beeter the reliever

Per Joel Sherman, the Yankees have indeed turned Clayton Beeter into a full-time reliever. There were indications they would do so late last year and over the winter, and now it’s official. Beeter, my No. 16 prospect, is behind the other pitchers in camp after dealing with a shoulder issue during the offseason. He is throwing and ramping up for the season. He’s just behind a bit.

“As we got through last year, his fastball/slider mix is super powerful and is best suited for relief,” Matt Blake told Sherman. “We decided to lean into the swing-and-miss of the fastball at the top of the zone and the slider at the bottom. We thought it might even play up in short bursts.”

Beeter, 26, finished last year in the bullpen after missing roughly four months with a shoulder injury that was serious enough that surgery was considered. He got into two games with the Yankees the final week of the season and was part of their “stay ready” group in the postseason. Beeter’s velocity jumped 2 mph in the bullpen, and he doesn’t have to fudge around with his third and fourth pitches (curveball or changeup) in short relief.

Even with Jake Cousins hurt, the Yankees have enough bullpen bodies that Beeter is unlikely to make the Opening Day roster. He seems destined to fill the “he’s been great in Triple-A, why don’t the Yankees call him up? (three weeks later) oh that’s why” role Ron Marinaccio filled the last few years. In all seriousness, the stuff and control and injury history say the bullpen is where Beeter belongs. Good decision, this is.

“Whatever they need me to do,” Beeter told Phillips. “I just want to help in the big leagues. So if that’s the way to do it, then it’s good with me.”

Yankees sign Zastryzny, lose White

The Yankees have brought in another lefty reliever: Rob Zastryzny. They signed him to a minor league deal earlier this week. He’s in camp as a non-roster player. Zastryzny, 33 next month, has appeared in parts of six MLB seasons with five teams, including the Brewers last year. He has a 4.30 ERA (3.72 FIP) with middling peripherals (18.2 K%, 10.5 BB%, 44.8 GB%) in 67 big league innings.

Zastryzny is a low-90s fastball, upper-80s cutter, low-80s breaking ball, low-80s changeup guy. He hasn’t worked as a starter since before the pandemic. We’ll see what he looks like in Spring Training. As recently as two weeks ago, the Yankees did not have a single viable big league lefty reliever in the organization. Now the lefty reliever depth chart looks like this:

1. Tim Hill
2. Tyler Matzek
3. Brent Headrick
4. Rob Zastryzny
5. Jayvien Sandridge

Hill’s on a Major League contract and locked into a roster spot. Headrick’s on the 40-man roster too, and he has a minor league option remaining. The other three are NRIs, and Matzek can opt out of his contract at the end of Spring Training. We’ll see how things shake out over the next few weeks. Hill’s in the bullpen. We know that much. Maybe there’s room for a second lefty too.

Also, the Yankees lost righty Owen White on waivers to the White Sox earlier this week. He was DFAed when they claimed Headrick. What was your favorite moment of the Owen White era (Feb. 5th to Feb. 17th)? I think I’d rather have White (25 with recent top 100 prospect pedigree) than Headrick (27 with little prospect pedigree), but eh, who cares. Headrick will probably be a goner soon too.

This is a good spot to check in on the state of the roster. We’ve gotten a few injury updates since the start of Spring Training, so things have changed since our last check in. This is what we’re looking at with the exhibition season a few hours away (asterisk means the player is out of options):

I assume Stanton will miss the start of the season and Beeter is behind enough that he won’t make the Opening Day roster, not that he’s likely to do so now. The Yankees would have to clear a 40-man roster spot for Jackson, which will be easy enough. Loáisiga’s a 60-day injured list candidate (maybe Stanton too?), plus guys like Headrick and Shewmake can go on waivers without any fuss.

With Stanton hurt and third base being a wasteland (and no backup catcher), I’m convinced the Yankees will make a move before Opening Day. Not necessarily anything significant, but something. Last week I noted the Yankees have had a player on the Opening Day roster who wasn’t in the organization when pitchers and catchers reported each of the last three years. Feels like they’ll do it again this year.

Miscellany

Chase Hampton, my No. 8 prospect, has a flexor strain and “something going on in the UCL,” Boone told Bryan Hoch. Hampton missed much of last season with a flexor strain. He’s going for more tests, but once they start talking about the UCL, it’s always bad news. Is it Tommy John surgery bad, or a PRP injection and four months of rehab bad? We’ll find out soon … Clarke Schmidt had a “cranky back” after throwing earlier this week, Boone told Hoch. It doesn’t sound too bad though. Schmidt threw Wednesday and will do so again Friday. It’s early enough in camp that the Yankees can back off a bit, give Schmidt a 7-10 days to feel better, and still have him ready for the start of the season … Everson Pereira will be limited to DH duty until mid March as he wraps up his UCL surgery rehab. He’s eight months out from surgery. The typical position player Tommy John surgery rehab is nine months or so, so yeah, Pereira’s pretty much right on schedule … Boone said the Yankees will “probably try to get him out in the outfield a little bit.” The him? Dom Smith. It's Spring Training, who cares if Smith plays the outfield in March, but yeesh. Here’s a preview of how it will go if the Yankees do put Smith in the outfield … And finally, the Yankees had their annual team bonding exercise Thursday. They had a BBQ on the new patio area they built in Tampa, and played a bunch of games. Boone said the words “competitive cornhole,” whatever that is. (I know cornhole is a thing and popular. I just couldn’t tell you the first thing about it.)

Up Next

The Grapefruit League season begins Friday afternoon. These games are meaningless, but they are fun in their own way, and baseball is better than no baseball. Here’s the full spring broadcast schedule and here’s what’s coming up between now and Tuesday’s post:

• Friday vs. Rays: Marcus Stroman (1pm ET on YES, MLBN, Gotham)

• Saturday at Blue Jays: TBA (1pm ET on Sportsnet, Gotham)

• Sunday vs. Tigers: TBA (1pm ET on YES, Gotham)

• Monday at Red Sox: TBA (1pm ET on NESN, MLBN, Gotham)

Reminder: The Gotham Sports App replaced the YES app. You can either subscribe to Gotham directly or log in with your cable provider. I use Gotham occasionally to watch the Knicks and Rangers and it’s better than the YES app simply because no random stats or trivia questions pop up. Still, it’s like every other streaming app, which means clunky and every so often the stream will be choppy. It is what it is.

As for the actual baseball, I’m only going to list the Yankees’ scheduled starter in the Up Next section the next few weeks because these games don’t count, and I don’t want to spend time chasing down the opposing starter (so, so many are TBA). Stroman is starting today and will throw one inning. Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jasson Domínguez, Paul Goldschmidt, and Anthony Volpe will be in the lineup. Not sure who else.

(Aaron Judge is on the Wells plan and won’t play until the first week of March, Boone said. Unlike Wells, Judge never stopped swinging a bat. He’s been taking live BP all week.)

We should find out who’s pitching the rest of the weekend later today. This early in camp, I imagine it will be a bunch of minor leaguers and NRIs going on the road to face the Blue Jays and Red Sox, not actual MLB pitchers. The joys of Spring Training. Not knowing who the heck will be on the mound or in the lineup each day. Baseball’s back though. Hooray for that.

3. Spring Training storylines. The Grapefruit League season begins later today and that means it’s time to overreact to small sample sizes and performance against variable levels of competition. Some guys will look great, some will look bad, some of it will prove to be real, most of it will prove to be nothing. Reading entirely too much into Grapefruit League performance is a rite of spring.

Case in point: Spencer Jones was ready to break out after hitting .444/.583/.733 with only three strikeouts in 25 Grapefruit League plate appearances last spring (12.0 K%). Then he struck out 200 times in Double-A. Anthony Rizzo hit .389/.488/.639 last spring! Cody Poteet gave up 10 runs in 10 innings. Why is that guy on the 40-man roster? That's the rotation depth??? Spring Training is full of lies, man.

There are valid questions about how much Paul Goldschmidt will give the Yankees in 2025, but Spring Training won’t tell us anything. A 14-year veteran like him won’t chase results in February and March. He knows exactly what he needs to do to get ready for the season, and will do that. Gerrit Cole pitching to a 40.50 ERA in Spring Training would not worry me at all unless he’s throwing like 85 mph fastballs.

The Yankees, like every other team, have no shortage of storylines this spring, some more important than others. I dislike that term, storylines. Storylines, takeaways, whatever. I guess it’s helpful and SEO friendly to have a simple catch-all term, but meh. Here, in no particular order, are the things I’m gonna pay a little extra attention to this spring. Call them storylines if you like.

All things Domínguez

The Yankees say Jasson Domínguez will have to win a roster spot this spring, they won’t hand one to him, but they didn’t bring in anyone to compete for the left field job, and they gave him Rizzo’s old locker next to Aaron Judge. They want the captain to mentor him and they gave Domínguez a very clear and unimpeded path to the left field job. It could not be more obvious he’s the guy.

"He's a young guy who's still got to go out and earn it," Aaron Boone said during his start of spring press conference (video). "He hasn't played a ton of baseball for as fast as he's gotten to the big leagues and as much success as we've all seen him have. I think we all in this room would recognize just how talented he is. I'd love for him to secure it and grab it and my expectation is that he will. I feel like he's in a good spot right now. He's got a good look in his eye and he's going to get every opportunity to be that guy and we certainly are hoping he shows us that.”

There are two things I’ll be watching with Domínguez this spring. The first is, obviously, his defense, which was shaky at times last year. He has speed and range, he can go get the ball, he just looks uncomfortable when it comes to actually catching it. Domínguez spent much of the offseason in Tampa working out in left field. “It’s a little different but I think it’ll be good,” he told Gary Phillips about playing left.

I'm going to sound like I’m preemptively making excuses for Domínguez, but playing the outfield in the Grapefruit League is not east. Those Florida afternoons have high skies, a bright sun, and usually wind. If  Domínguez misplays a fly ball in a game when three other outfielders also misplay fly balls, we should cut the kid some slack. Clearly though, I hope to see a better and more confident defender this spring.

And second, what’s his right-handed swing look like? It’s his (much) weaker side. Weak enough that the Yankees would be justified platooning him (if they had a viable platoon partner), but also the kid is only 22. I’d rather not relegate him to platoon hitter status this early in his career. Domínguez hit a tank against Carlos Rodón in live BP the other day (video). I’ll take that as a good sign for his righty swing.

“A little bit lost,” Domínguez told Phillips about his righty swing in 2024. “I felt it could be better. I feel I was struggling a little bit. This season’s gonna be better at right-handed.”

Spring Training is a great time for prospect watching and Domínguez is the prospect to watch this spring. I’m looking forward to seeing Jones, Roderick Arias, George Lombard Jr., and others, but Domínguez is the Yankees’ best prospect and one of the best in baseball, and the left field job is there for the taking. Better defense and a better righty swing. I hope to see both the next few weeks. 

The third base competition

Is this even a competition? Or are the Yankees just going to put DJ LeMahieu at third to start the season and keep him there until he shows he can’t handle it? Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been working out at second base this week, that’s where he’s playing, so it is indeed third base that’s up for grabs. LeMahieu is in the mix along with Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza. I see no other candidates, realistically.

“He’s going to be given an opportunity,” Brian Cashman told Bryan Hoch about LeMahieu. “He’s healthy and he’ll compete, and then we’ll see where it plays out. It’ll answer itself on its own.”

Spring Training playing time can often tell you which way the team is leading, though I’m not sure that will be the case at third. I don’t think LeMahieu has to win a roster spot, and Cabrera and/or Peraza playing more third base than LeMahieu won’t necessarily mean they’re ahead of LeMahieu on the depth chart. Now, if LeMahieu plays zero third base this spring, that’ll be telling, but I would be surprised if that happens.

I’m not sure what to expect at third base this spring. Well, no, it’ll probably be business as usual, right? Unless the Yankees bring in a player from outside the organization? Cabrera, LeMahieu, and Peraza will all play third base this spring, then the Yankees will default to LeMahieu when the season begins. I guess I just hope to see some signs third base won’t be an unmitigated disaster in 2025.

The backup catcher competition

I was ready to say this takes on added importance with Austin Wells kinda sorta maybe possibly beat up to the point that he’s not taking swings, but he started hitting Thursday. Wells is the starter and the backup catcher candidates are JC Escarra, Alex Jackson, and Ben Rice. Maybe Rafael Flores too, but eh, that would surprise me. The Yankees are winging it behind the plate. I would guess Jackson is the favorite for the backup job, but who knows?

"I think there’s a few guys who are capable of grabbing (the backup catcher job)," Boone told Phillip Martinez earlier this week. "… They all bring something to the table. Different strengths, weaknesses. And we’ll just let that play out for the next six weeks and it may go on beyond that, honestly. How they connect to the room, how they connect with pitchers. How they cover their weaknesses. There’s not something specific. I want the best guy when we go on March 27th that is going to help us win games."

Playing time will tell us something about the backup catcher situation. Does one guy get more time behind the plate with the big league pitchers early in Grapefruit League games while others catch minor leaguers in the late innings? Escarra caught Gerrit Cole’s live BP on Tuesday. You don’t catch the ace in Spring Training (even in live BP) unless you have a chance to catch him in games that count. 

I don’t think the Yankees were wrong to trade Jose Trevino or Carlos Narváez. I think they did well in both trades. I just think it was a mistake to not replace them with a more established backup. Hopefully I’m wrong (probably am) and catcher depth winds up being a non-issue, and whoever backs up Wells does the job well. It’s just like, really guys, you’re really comfortable with this?

Who has a new pitch, a new stance, etc.?

It’s cliche, so and so is working on a new pitch this spring, but it happens! Pitchers tinker with new pitches in Spring Training and sometimes they stick. Usually they don’t. Remember Rodón’s new cutter last year? He threw 24 cutters in Spring Training, 73 cutters in his first five regular season starts, then 59 cutters the rest of the season. He tried it, it didn’t take, so he shelved it. That’s usually how these things go.

These days working on a new pitch doesn’t always mean a new pitch type. It could mean learning a new version of an existing pitch. This is something I didn’t pick up with Luke Weaver last spring. The Yankees tweaked his changeup grip and bam, more movement. Matt Blake has talked about ways to “tighten the screws” on Max Fried’s pitches. What does that mean? Maybe we’ll find out this spring.

Also, taking away a pitch – the opposite of toying with a new pitch – is worth noting too. Fernando Cruz’s cutter sticks out. It’s a junk pitch. He’s thrown it 27% of the time of his career and he’s given up nine of his 16 homers on it. So that’s 56% of his homers on a pitch he uses 27% of the time. I could see the Yankees scrapping the cutter entirely. That might be something we can see in Spring Training.

We can loop in hitters too. Does anyone have a new toe tap, a new setup with their hands, anything new with their swing or batting stance? Remember Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s Justin Turner phase in 2022? That turned out to be nothing, he abandoned it in April, but hey, it was something to talk about and dream on for a few weeks. Guys will try different things in Spring Training. It is inevitable. Might as well keep tabs on all of it.

Which random reliever pops?

There seems to be one or two every spring. My money is on Tyler Matzek, though Yerry De Los Santos is already getting talked up, and Boone mentioned non-roster righty Geoff Hartlieb by name as a “guy we’re excited about” during his start of spring press conference. Other candidates include Sean Boyle, Erick Leal, Wilking Rodríguez, and anyone with a pulse. Sometimes these guys turn into Ian Hamilton or Lucas Luetge. Other times it’s just a Nick Burdi. Spring Training is peak “reliever makes you go hmmm” season. 

* * *

The Yankees don’t have a set leadoff hitter at the moment and that’s probably not an answer we’ll get in Spring Training. Maybe someone hits really well and the Yankees go with that guy atop the lineup to start the regular season, but who hits where on a given day in February and March is meaningless. The veterans hit at the top of the lineup in Spring Training so they can get their work in, then go home. And yet, a few people will freak out when Trent Grisham or whoever hits leadoff one day.

The big thing, as always, is get through Spring Training healthy. That’s the priority. The Yankees also must figure out third base and the backup catcher situations, and Domínguez has to at least make it clear he’s the right guy for the left field job, and not make everyone nervous. If the Yankees can improve and/or unearth some pitchers along the way, great. We’ve got two position battles that may not actually be battles, and a rookie trying to show he deserves the job he has been all but given. It probably won’t be the most dramatic spring, storyline-wise, but there’s still stuff going on that demands our attention.

4. Rapid fire thoughts. Vlad Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays did not agree to an extension before his self-imposed deadline Monday. He’s cut off contract talks and will become a free agent after the season. “We didn't get an agreement. Now they're going to have to compete with 29 other teams,” he said. This is reminiscent of Aaron Judge’s failed extension talks with the Yankees in 2022. “At the end of the year, I'm a free agent. I'll talk to 30 teams and the Yankees will be one of those 30 teams,” Judge said at the time. It all worked out in the end for the Yankees and Judge. It still could for the Blue Jays and Guerrero. His free agency is a topic for down the road. The trade deadline comes first, and if the Blue Jays are out of it, do they make him available as a rental? If yes, would they trade him within the division to the Yankees? I guess that would depend on the other offers. Point is, the “Vlad Jr. to the Yankees at the deadline” watch is now on. Hopefully the Blue Jays cooperate (by stinking) … Hey, good timing. I wrote Tuesday about Yankees who could play in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, then two days later Judge told Deesha Thosar he’s open to it. "I think that'd be pretty fun. It'd be cool to represent your country. (Team USA) made it to the finals, but they didn't win it. So we gotta win it. We'll see,” he said. The 2026 WBC might be Judge’s last chance to play for Team USA. It’s not known whether MLB will send players to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles (that will be a CBA topic), and the next WBC might not be until 2030. Also, Jazz Chisholm Jr. says he intends to play for Great Britain next year, and Anthony Volpe said he will only play for Team USA (not Italy, which asked him to play in 2023). The Yankees can only block players from the WBC under certain injury conditions. The rosters won’t be finalized for months. There’s nothing imminent on that front.

Mailbag Questions of the Week

Kevin asks: How about a Marcus Stroman for Starling Marte swap? Frankie Montas is hurt so the Mets could use a starter. Marte would give the Yankees another option in the outfield and he can still hit lefties well, so he could fill in at DH while Stanton is out. They’re on similar salaries so it would kind of be a wash.

Baseball-wise, it makes sense. The Mets need another starting-capable pitcher and the Yankees need a bat. Stroman is no higher than sixth on the rotation depth chart. Marte is on the light end of a DH platoon. The money is close to a wash ($19.5M vs. $18M), though Stroman’s player option complicates things. Let’s ignore the option for the time being since this is one of those “never gonna happen” hypotheticals anyway.

Marte, 36, works for the Yankees. He hit .269/.327/.388 (104 wRC+) last season and is projected for something similar this year, and he can play the corner outfield spots. That’s not amazing, but I’m not sure there’s anyone sitting in free agency who can do that in 2025. Marte might be the best bat available to the Yankees before Opening Day, as unexciting as he is at this point in his career.

Why would the Mets do it though? If they want a back-end veteran innings guy, they could just sign Jose Quintana, who they had the last two years and know well. It’s not like money is an object for them. Also, the Mets had Stroman from 2019-21, and although it’s a different front office/coaching staff, the pattern is teams that have Stroman don’t want him to keep him around. I doubt the Mets are interested in a Stroman reunion.

The Mets are reportedly willing to eat money to move Marte, who’s nearing the end of his career but might be better than anyone available in free agency. The Yankees should call and see what it’ll take. If they don’t want to take the Mets’ castoffs after losing Juan Soto to them, then I suggest not losing Juan Soto to them. The Yankees need more offense and aren’t really in position to be picky.

Vincent asks: Let's assume that Giancarlo is gonna be in and out all season, as per usual. What would a JD Martinez contract look like, and how might he fit on the roster if and when Stanton is around?

The Cubs just gave Justin Turner $6M plus incentives, so that’s Martinez’s price range. Martinez might even come in under that because he can’t play the field (Turner can at least stand at first base once or twice a week) and is coming off a worse season with more red flags. His .235/.320/.406 (108 wRC+) line last year was split into .264/.349/.457 (130 wRC+) in the first half and .199/.282/.340 (79 wRC+) in the second half. The Mets had him on the bench late in the season and he started only five of their 13 postseason games.

As for how Martinez fits when Stanton is healthy, I mean, he doesn’t, right? That’s two right-handed DH only guys. You don’t need two of them. Martinez really only makes sense if Stanton is going to miss an extended period of time. Like 4-5 months, not 4-5 weeks. Even then, I’d rather not bring in a declining 37-year-old DH. If you’re going to bring someone in, bring in someone who can play a position, even if it’s just first base or right field at Yankee Stadium. Is it crazy to say I’d rather run Ben Rice out there? Am I losing it?

Mike asks: With Stanton looking to start the year on the IL, is there an argument to add a hitter such as Rizzo (gasp) to DH, or are they better going with an internal option such as Jones or Pereira? Any interesting bat still in free agency who can provide at least league-average offense to keep the line moving?

Yes, there’s definitely an argument for adding a hitter, and I’m in favor of it. It’s time to turn the page on Anthony Rizzo, I think. Don’t sign him. My preference is Mark Canha. His .344 OBP last year was his lowest since 2018 and also 14 points higher than anyone other than Aaron Judge and Juan Soto on the 2024 Yankees. The Yankees have an OBP problem and Canha could help address it. He can also play the two corner outfield spots and first base (and third base in an emergency), so there’s a little versatility there. J.D. Martinez can’t play the field and the bat is slipping big time. Adam Duvall is another low OBP/high SLG guy (who didn’t SLG last year). Jose Iglesias? Meh. Yes, the Yankees should add a bat given Giancarlo Stanton’s elbow issue. I think Canha’s the best bet among several not great options. As for internal options, I'd go with Ben Rice. Spencer Jones isn't ready and Everson Pereira needs more Triple-A time. Rice is the best internal option and I don't think it's particularly close either.

Adam asks: I was hoping the Yankees would sign Brendan Rodgers to a minor league contract to compete with the in-house infield candidates. Are you surprised he opted to sign with the Astros? Do they have a clearer path for playing time than the Yankees?

The Astros will play Jose Altuve in left field at least part of the time, so Rodgers’ competition at second base is Mauricio Dubón. That’s a pretty clear path to making the roster, I think. Rodgers was the best infielder left in free agency mostly because he’s young (28) and has prospect pedigree (No. 3 overall pick in 2015), though he hasn’t been all that productive as a big leaguer. I would have given him a minor league deal, absolutely, though I can understand why he went to Houston. I don’t think it’s a huge miss. Rodgers would have been another name for the infield pile rather than a clear-cut solution.

Joshua asks: Arenado for Stroman contract swap straight up. Who hangs up first?

The Cardinals already did! The Yankees reportedly offered Marcus Stroman for Nolan Arenado early in the offseason, and the Cardinals said no. I assume that, at the time, St. Louis anticipated being able to shed a larger portion of Arenado’s 2025 salary. They owe him $27M this year. Stroman is owed $18M, then there’s the player option for 2026. The Cardinals were reportedly willing to eat $5M per year to send Arenado to the Astros before he used his no-trade clause to block the trade. Eating $15M across three years is much different than taking back $18M this year. Maybe their willingness to take on Stroman has changed in the weeks since, but there are no indications that is the case.

How about Stroman for Rhys Hoskins? Brandon Woodruff is working his way back from shoulder surgery and is expected to miss the first few weeks of the season, and the Brewers just lost DL Hall to a lat strain. They’re already pushing the limits of their rotation depth. Hoskins is owed $22M ($18M salary plus $4M buyout of a mutual option) and he’s coming off a .214/.303/.419 (100 wRC+) line and 26 homers. If the Yankees are going to be without Giancarlo Stanton for a while, maybe Hoskins fits. I dunno. Just throwing a name with a salary similar to Stroman's out there.

Brian asks: If Stanton is out to start the year I presume they will do rotating DH days with primarily Judge DH for rest, JD LF, Grisham CF, Belli RF/Rice DH + regular OF. What say you?

Yeah that sounds about right. Giancarlo Stanton missed 28 games with his hamstring injury last year and Aaron Judge was the DH for 17 of the 28. My guess is Judge at DH, Cody Bellinger in right, and Trent Grisham in center will be the most common alignment without Stanton. Paul Goldschmidt at DH and Ben Rice at first base is another possibility. Austin Wells might get more DH time too. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jasson Domínguez are young enough that they won’t need regular turns at DH, though they could get one now and then (sorry, but lol at Anthony Volpe at DH). Barring an outside addition, I think the DH at-bats will be 50% Judge, 25% Goldschmidt, and 25% everyone else, give or take.

Sandy asks: Brian Cashman recently said this about Aaron Boone: "I know that if he wasn’t the Yankees manager, it would be a feeding frenzy for him to be a manager that’s coveted elsewhere." Do you agree with Cashman? If Boone were a free agent, would he immediately be hired as a major league manager? If so, would it be by a championship contender? Should the Yankees be trying to extend Boone now, or should they let the season play out first and then re-evaluate?

Cashman has every reason to say this, because it justifies extending Boone and sticking with him. You couldn’t possibly prove this without letting Boone go, but you also can’t let him go because other teams would immediately try to hire him, just ask Cashman! In all seriousness, I do think that other teams would have interest in Boone and he would get hired right away. His overall body of work is good and he has experience in a demanding market with a high level organization. That kinda stuff matters (there’s a reason the Mets are bringing in every former Yankees coach and player they can). So yes, I do think Boone would draw immediate interest from other teams. I also don’t think that’s a good reason to keep him. If he’s not getting the job done for you, make a change. You can’t just keep running it back, right? Well, apparently you can, because they extended him. Sandy sent this question in before the extension and I would’ve let the season play out before re-signing Boone. I don’t know why the Yankees rushed into this. (It’s incredible Boone’s still here after showing the Yankees highlights of the 2004 ALCS in when they were down 3-0 in the 2022 ALCS.)

Janine asks: I’m sure I’m not the first person to ask this but have you ever considered doing a podcast?  I’ve had a hard time finding good Yankees podcast content and I think people would love to hear your perspective via an additional platform. I’m betting you have zero spare time to take on another project but it sure would be great for us followers. Additionally, are there any podcasts or other audio content you like?

Nah, no podcast for me, sorry. I don’t want anything else to my plate. I agreed to do a regular Yankees podcast with Lindsey Adler at The Athletic in 2019 or 2020, but backed out because I didn’t want another commitment, and I felt like a jerk about it. I apologize because I’m the wrong person to ask about podcasts. The only podcast I listen to is Effectively Wild, which covers all baseball and is not Yankees specific. There is the Views from 314ft podcast (and Substack!). Maybe check that out.

Joe asks: Your last post asked us to click on your link, leave it open & scroll down. Got me thinking, can you share, as you're comfortable, how clicks go into your evaluation as a writer? Does your boss sit down and discuss clicks? To maybe liken this to baseball terms, this is like selling out for power or velocity. The moneyball of writing, no?

The thing about clicking my Mookie Betts post at CBS and leaving the tab open was just a joke. I spent a lot of time on it and wanted to get it out there. Other than my editors occasionally mentioning site traffic being up or down (you’re not going to believe this, but a Yankees-Dodgers World Series drew more eyeballs than Rangers-Diamondbacks) or a certain piece doing especially well, I’ve never been told about my personal click rate or anything at CBS. I feel fortunate they aren’t on my back about it constantly and I assume it’s because I’m doing a good job. This will be my 13th season at CBS. That’s an eternity in this business. I must be doing something right. If I wasn’t, I’m sure I’d be unemployed.

(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.)