October 27th, 2023: Casey, World Series, Mailbag

I know I recently said I would have Jung-Hoo Lee and Yoshinobu Yamamoto breakdowns before the end of October, but I’m going to push those back to early November. I want to see whether we get updated scouting reports once free agency opens. Everything we have now is from last year or, at best, the World Baseball Classic. Those posts are definitely coming. I just want to be able to provide the most complete information, and we don’t have it right now (especially since Yamamoto’s team is still playing). Let’s get to today’s post.

1. Casey will not return. Earlier this week on his podcast, Sean Casey announced he will not return as Yankees’ hitting coaching, citing family reasons. Everyone has a podcast these days, huh. When he was hired Casey said he would use the rest of the season to gauge his interest in coaching long-term. I guess the 2023 Yankees scared him away. For real though, family is a good reason to step away. That and having a cushy MLB Network gig waiting for you.

“I’m not gonna be able to come back next year because I have my two daughters at home. I think getting divorced a few years ago – I have those girls 50% of the time. I just can’t imagine being away for eight months,” Casey said. “... It was a tough decision for me. There was no offer made, but I do think I could have come back had I wanted to. That time right now is not perfect for me. We’ll see what happens in the next few years here.”

Offensively, the Yankees performed worse under Casey than Dillon Lawson this season, though it’s not fair to put that all on the hitting coach. Casey didn’t get an offseason and a Spring Training to work with his players, the Yankees put a lot of kids in the lineup down the stretch, and Casey only had the concussed version of Anthony Rizzo and the injured toe version of Aaron Judge. For posterity’s sake, here are the 2023 numbers:

The Yankees had a more patient approach with Casey (more walks, more pitches seen, etc.) but the results didn’t follow. Fewer hits, less slug, and on average they scored one fewer run every two games. And the Yankees struck out so damn much in the second half. They had 34 double-digit strikeout games in 71 games with Casey (48%) after having only 28 in 91 games with Lawson (31%). A team 26.2% strikeout rate, even for only 71 games, is insane. That can not continue.

Several Yankees, including Judge and DJ LeMahieu, went to bat for Casey, saying he was great to talk hitting with. “I think Sean Casey has been a huge help for me. I relate to him really well. He has great positive energy,” LeMahieu, who had a 128 wRC+ with Casey after a 77 wRC+ under Lawson this season, told Dan Martin in August.

“Sean Casey, he's just one of the best baseball guys around,” Judge told Andy Martino last month. “He has been great. Good baseball mind. Good at thinking about the pitcher. Has great baseball stories, and has a great way to slow guys down, relax, and go out there and play. He understands how hard this game is on a daily basis. He just keeps us loose and keeps us ready to go.”

That’s all well and good, players need to be on the same wavelength as the hitting coach, but players aren’t always the best evaluators. Judge has thrown his support behind Aaron Boone countless times over the years and that’s not working out. The players should have some input, especially a player like Judge, but they can’t have the final say. They’d all hire their buddies.

Whoever the Yankees hire will be the team’s third primary hitting coach in two years, fourth in four years, and the seventh in the last 11 years. This is a job with a lot of turnover, but that much turnover seems not great. When they begin the search for Casey’s replacement, I hope the Yankees do a little more legwork than turn on the TV. Hiring talking heads with zero coaching experience hasn’t served them well, and if anything has actively harmed the franchise.

There’s no word on assistant hitting coaches Casey Dykes and Brad Wilkerson, or the rest of the coaching staff. The Yankees have been radio silent since the end of the season. Eventually they’ll put on their big boy pants and face the music after their worst season in three decades, but it hasn’t happened yet, so we’re in the dark about everything. For now, we know Casey is gone. It’s the first real piece of news since the season ended nearly four weeks ago.

2. World Series thoughts. Regardless of what happens in the World Series – Diamondbacks vs. Rangers??? – this has been an A+ postseason. I mean, a lot of these games have been dull, particularly in the Wild Card Series and Division Series, but as a Yankees fan and certified hater, it has been an A+ postseason. Consider:

• The Blue Jays, Orioles, and Rays went a combined 0-7 and got outscored 37-13. Maybe next postseason Tampa will finally break through and score a second run.
• Also, congrats O’s for reaching the postseason in 2023 after losing 100+ games in 2021. The D’Backs and Rangers did that too, except they actually showed up in October.
• The Astros lost all four home games in the ALCS. They’re the only franchise ever to lose four home games in a best-of-seven, and they’ve done it twice (also 2019 World Series).
• The Braves got sent home early. Nothing against the players, I just find their fans and a few reporters covering the team to be very whiny. Being a hater doesn’t have to be rational.
• Bryce Harper, Jordan Montgomery, Corey Seager, and a few others continually make the Yankees look stupid. This team deserves some shame and they’re getting it.

For real, it’s like this postseason was designed specifically to troll the Yankees. Montgomery has been fantastic after the Yankees deemed him expendable. Harper was obviously a poor fit for the Yankees’ culture (because he hits in the postseason). We can’t sign a top shortstop because we really like our prospects *watches the Rangers spend $500M on Seager and Marcus Semien and then trade their best middle infield prospects for Montgomery and Max Scherzer*

The Astros losing the way they did – Adolis García putting them in a body bag in Game 7 in front of their mouthy fans with victim complexes – warmed my heart. Since 2017, Houston is 12-5 against the Yankees in the ALCS and 11-14 against everyone else. The AL was so wide open this year. This is the season the Yankees had to go 82-80 and finish in fourth place? Come on man.

As for the Rangers and D’Backs, both teams lost 100+ games in 2021, and their combined .537 winning percentage (87-win pace) is the lowest in World Series history.

1. 2023: .537 (D’Backs and Rangers)
2. 1973: .545 (Athletics and Mets)
3. 2014: .546 (Giants and Royals)
4. 1997: .551 (Cleveland and Marlins)
5. 2006: .551 (Cardinals and Tigers)

Arizona won 84 games (only two more than the Yankees!) with a -15 run differential (only 10 runs better than the Yankees!), and those 84 wins are the third fewest for a pennant winner in a non-strike, non-pandemic season. Only the 1973 Mets (82 wins) and 2006 Cardinals (83 wins) reached the World Series with fewer wins in a full season.

On one hand, this is the sort of thing I was worried about with the expanded postseason format, that a middling team would get in and get hot and make noise. The Yankees played the D’Backs in late September. Did Arizona look anything like a pennant winner in those three games? Not at all (remember this?) Credit to them though. You can only play the schedule and postseason format you’re given.

On the other hand, giving more teams a chance at the postseason and getting more fan bases invested is unequivocally a good thing for baseball. And while it’s easy to rail against the 84-win D’Backs and the postseason format, this might just be a one-off. It happens. The Cardinals won 83 games in 2006 and won the World Series. Weird stuff happens every now and then.

I think there are too many teams in the postseason, 12 is an awful lot, but I don't think this year’s D’Backs are a sign things are broken. This is Year 2 of this postseason format. Let’s give it a chance to breathe a little. If in a few years 84-win pennant-winners become the norm, okay, then we’ll have a problem. I’m not sure the D’Backs are anything more than an outlier yet.

Arizona is a reminder the team you have on Opening Day is never the team you take into the postseason. They are not an 84-win team right now. They overhauled their bullpen in July and September, and young players like Alek Thomas and Gabriel Moreno began to come into their own later in the season. They discovered their power stroke in particular.

• Thomas: 3 HR first 56 G, 6 HR last 69 G, 4 HR in postseason
• Moreno: 2 HR first 68 G, 5 HR last 43 G, 3 HR in postseason

The D’Backs have major 2015 Royals vibes with their speed, athleticism, and defense. They are a very fun and entertaining team, and built perfectly for MLB’s new rules. Arizona went 166-for-192 (86%) stealing bases during the regular season and then went 8-for-8 in Games 6 and 7 of the NLCS, when their backs were against the well. They put constant pressure on the opposition and have a legit chance to win this series. They’ve been underestimated all postseason.

What I appreciate about the Rangers is the urgency with which they’ve operated. They threw all that money at Seager and Semien two years ago (paving the way for the Yankees to get Isiah Kiner-Falefa!), then paid big for Jacob deGrom and slightly less big for Nathan Eovaldi last offseason. And, when deGrom and Eovaldi got hurt at midseason, Texas traded for Montgomery and Scherzer. No pussyfooting. They went after the best available.

Compare that to, say, the Orioles, who very obviously needed rotation help, and settled for Kyle Gibson in the offseason and Jack Flaherty at the deadline. Or the Mariners, who traded away their stud closer at the deadline (to the D’Backs) while being in the postseason race. What are we doing here? Are you trying to win or not? The Rangers are and have been rewarded. Good for them.

Also, I think it’s interesting two of the last three teams standing have former players in the GM’s chair: Chris Young (the pitcher) with the Rangers and Sam Fuld with the Phillies. There’s a recent trend of hiring former players to run baseball operations. The Red Sox just hired Craig Breslow and the White Sox gave Chris Getz their top job a few weeks ago. Brandon Gomes is the Dodgers GM.

Fuld and Gomes are not their team’s No. 1, they work under a president of baseball operations, but former players are working their way back into the front office. To be clear, these guys are not old school, shoot from the hip, make trades on bar napkins types. Breslow (Yale) and Young (Princeton) are Ivy Leaguers. Fuld and Gomes were regarded as major statheads as players.

These are former players who played in what I’ll call the analytics era, and in some cases have experience with more modern player development techniques in the minors. They understand the information and also bring a player’s perspective. Given their success (Young is in the World Series, Fuld was last year and nearly again this year, etc.), I suspect more teams will seek out former players for top baseball operations jobs. Everything that works in this sport gets copied.

With all the important stuff out of the way, I must now say this postseason has left one question burning in my mind: how in the world did Miguel Castro grow so much hair so quickly???

Castro has to be wearing hair extensions, right? This is a judgment free zone, you do you, I just have no idea where all that hair could have come from otherwise. Everyone is different but no one’s hair grows that fast, I don’t think. Maybe Castro’s wearing a wig. That would be a good bit, a reliever wearing a different wig every time he takes the mound.

Anyway, this is the first time in since 2016 I truly have no rooting interest in the World Series. I’ve spent most of the last decade rooting against the Astros or Rays or Red Sox or whichever team I don’t like. This year I am free of that burden. I can just watch the World Series and not care who wins. It is delightful. If the Yankees don’t make the World Series, this is the next best thing.

Mailbag Questions of the Week

Anthony asks: I don't think the Yankees are in a position to trade away hitters with a pulse and without an AARP membership at this point, so by necessity I'm against trading Gleyber. But I also know that their best defensive alignment (and lineup for the future) has Volpe and Peraza up the middle. Is there any chance whatsoever that a) Gleyber could handle third (maybe but likely not?) and b) the Yankees would consider trying him there (likely not but maybe?)?

ANSWER: I don’t see why Gleyber Torres couldn’t handle third base. He makes dumb, careless mistakes when he has time to make a play, and second base affords the defender a lot of time. Third base is a reaction position. The ball comes at you hot and you have to make a long throw across the diamond. Everything happens quickly at the hot corner.

Here are the Statcast numbers on Gleyber’s arm. The data goes back to 2020:

Torres at 2B: 78.0 mph average and 85.8 mph max
MLB average at 2B: 80.0 mph average

Torres at SS: 87.0 mph average and 91.5 mph max
MLB average at SS: 86.3 mph average

Gleyber has a good arm. He can really cut it loose when he needs to, he just doesn’t need to all that much at second base. When he played short, Torres showed an above-average arm. Can it translate to third base? Why wouldn’t it? He’s only 27 (or will be soon).

Torres played some third base in the minors but not much (23 games from 2017-18). You would have to give him an offseason and Spring Training to prepare for the position change. The Yankees seem to have made up their mind that they’re not bringing Torres back long-term, so it doesn’t seem third base is in the cards. I wish they’d at least consider it.

Chris asks: Even though the Yankees need offensive help, I think they should cash in on Gleyber Torres’ 2023 performance before it’s too late. Torres is an extremely frustrating player on both sides of the ball (and base running too). Moving him would free up money for other moves and open a spot for Peraza as you indicated. What realistically is Gleyber Torres’ trade value at this moment? And what matches are there for the Yankees?

ANSWER: There is plenty of recent precedent for a trade involving one year of a good but not truly player like Torres, especially if you loop in rentals at the deadline since you’re acquiring one postseason run of the player. Here are a few recent examples:

• Andrew Benintendi (Royals to Yankees): Traded for three top 30-ish team prospects (RHP Chandler Champlain, LHP T.J. Sikkema, RHP Beck Way).
• Adam Frazier (Padres to Mariners): Traded for six years of a near-MLB-ready reliever (LHP Ray Kerr) and a top 30-ish team prospect (OF Cory Rosier).
• Starling Marte (Marlins to Athletics): Traded for five years of a post-hype young pitcher (LHP Jesús Luzardo).
• Hunter Renfroe (Brewers to Angels): Traded for three top 30-ish team prospects (RHP Janson Junk, RHP Elvis Peguero, LHP Adam Seminaris).

Luzardo is the biggest prize there, though he was severely broken at the time of that trade. The Marlins were able to get him on track and he looks like a steal now. Those other trades are all inventory deals. One good player for 2-3 prospects to bolster organizational depth. Do you prefer one potential impact piece or a larger package with a lower ceiling?

Two things to keep in mind. One, the Yankees can slap the qualifying offer on Torres next winter. They would only get a pick after the fourth round as compensation given their luxury tax status, but that’s the bar. Nothing lower than a fourth round caliber prospect. And two, the free agent class is so bad. By WAR, here are the top free agents who played even a little middle infield in 2023:

1. Donovan Solano: +1.2 WAR
2. Elvis Andrus: +1.1 WAR
3. Rougned Odor: +0.5 WAR (he’s been a free agent since getting released in July)
4. Brandon Crawford: +0.4 WAR
5. Gio Urshela: +0.4 WAR

Urshela is the most appealing player there and he’s recovering from a fractured pelvis. I’m not sure he’ll even be ready for Opening Day. Point is, middle infield needy teams have little choice but to turn to the trade market this offseason. Free agency offers little. The market is driven by supply and demand. There will be demand but there’s very little supply.

Assuming the Blue Jays and Red Sox are non-options, the Dodgers (if they put Mookie Betts back in right field), Marlins (if they put Luis Arraez back at first base), Mariners, and Brewers all stand out as potential trade Torres trade partners. The Yankees should be able to beat the Benintendi and Renfroe packages because Gleyber’s the better player. Two or three mid-range prospects, or maybe one top 100 guy a la Luzardo, seems reasonable.

(MLBTR projects a hefty $15.3M salary for Torres in 2024. That will be prohibitive for some teams, but if the Yankees are going to trade their second best position player, they better be willing to eat money to maximize the return.)

Steve asks: Is Yamamoto going to be the first Steinbrenner/Cohen free agency battle? What will the outcome tell us about each franchise going forward?

ANSWER: All indications are the Yankees and Mets will be significant players for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but it won’t be just them. The Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Phillies, and Rangers are also expected to be involved, and I’m sure other clubs will dip their toe as well. You don’t have to try too hard to see this coming down the Mets and Yankees though. (The Dodgers may be more focused on Shohei Ohtani, the Giants never actually sign stars, etc.)

It will be very easy to craft a narrative about both the Mets and Yankees once Yamamoto signs, wherever he signs. Well, if he goes to the Dodgers, okay, maybe he prefers the West Coast and a team that is in the race every single year. The player has agency in this too and more than a few Japanese (and Korean) players have shown a preference for the West Coast.

But, if it comes down to the Mets and Yankees and the offers are comparable, and the Yankees win out, then the Mets are still the little brother. Doesn’t matter who owns the team or who’s on the roster or who’s running baseball operations. The Yankees are still the Yankees and the Mets are still the Mets. I can hear Randy Levine’s press conference now.

On the other side of the coin, if the Mets get Yamamoto instead of the Yankees, then the Yankees would look immeasurably worse than they already do. There are already questions – 100% valid questions – about Hal Steinbrenner’s commitment to winning and the front office’s competence. I mean, the front office is competent, it is, but the mistakes are piling up. Something’s broken.

Again, assuming the offers are comparable, Yamamoto rejecting the Yankees to go to a team in the same market and with considerably less on-field success in recent years would be a huge blow to the Yankees brand. Fan confidence in the organization would be nil, they’d take a beating in the media, and they would be exposed as no longer the sport’s glamour franchise. Same offer, same city, greater history (short and long-term) … and the guy goes to the other team? Yikes.

Although the Yankees had the better record this year, I think the Mets are in a better place organizationally. Steve Cohen is willing to spend in a way Hal is not, and when things went sideways this year, the Mets pivoted and leveraged Cohen’s wallet to get premium prospects at the trade deadline. Compare that to the Yankees, who were paralyzed at the deadline and did nothing to better the franchise in the short or long-term (sorry, Keynan Middleton).

The Mets have a discernible plan. They’re spending big in the short-term in an effort to contend while building up the farm system. A big market rebuild. It’s what the Dodgers did from 2012-14 or so. What is the Yankees’ plan? If it’s to win now, great, but they’re doing a pretty bad job of it. If it’s to build for the future, they’re doing a bad job at that too. At some point all the young hitters failing to take a step forward stops being “baseball is hard, and begins being an organizational flaw, and that point was a few years ago.

I think we stand to learn a lot more about the Mets and David Stearns from Yamamoto than we do the Yankees. Stearns had to work with small payrolls with the Brewers, though he began his front office career with Cleveland and the Astros, two clubs that eschew the top of the market. Will that continue with New York? You’d think not, but these payroll efficiency types are wired differently.

We should know pretty quickly how serious the Yankees are about Yamamoto. When they want a premium free agent, they are not shy about it. They were all over Gerrit Cole and CC Sabathia, and last year with Aaron Judge. They put huge offers on the table early in free agency and told the rest of the league to not bother, we’re in it to win it.

For other players, their pursuits are more reserved. The Yankees wined and dined Manny Machado but were never seriously in on him. They spoke to Carlos Correa and Corey Seager, and that was it. There was no intense pursuit with seemingly daily updates about visits and offers and how highly they regarded them the way there were with Cole, Judge, and Sabathia.

I don’t think Brian Cashman going to Japan to watch Yamamoto and sitting in the front row, where he knew he would be seen and have his picture taken, was a coincidence. Being at the no-hitter was a coincidence, but Cashman and the Yankees knew what they were doing. The GM doesn’t go to Japan to watch just anyone. That was a clear message the Yankees are in.

At some point adding dollars to your offer doesn’t move the needle and the free agent pursuit becomes about selling the player on the organization, the city, etc. Passing up similar dollars from the Yankees to go to another team, especially one in the same city, would be a really bad look for an organization that is always quick to tell you they’re the sport’s greatest franchise.

(Will Sammon (subs. req’d) recently reported Yamamoto prefers a big market team and is open to playing with another Japanese player. Translation: I want the teams with the most money after me and don’t worry Mets, I’ll play alongside Kodai Senga. Go ahead, make me an offer.)

Jonathan asks: Hypothetically, assume the Yankees only have enough money for Yamamoto OR Soto. Yamamoto has no prospect cost, clearly, but Soto does. Assume you can re-sign Soto. Which do you prefer - Soto (at his expected price, plus prospects lost to trade), or Yamamoto (at his expected price)? If the Yankees trade for Soto, should they put him in right and move Judge to left? I'd be thrilled to get Soto, no matter what, but his defense in left seems suspect.

ANSWER: This one is easy. Give me the 25-year-old proven MLB superstar hitter over the 25-year-old pitcher who has ace ability, but is unproven in MLB. Add in the inherent injury risk with pitchers and it’s a no-brainer. Yes, you have to pay double for Juan Soto, first in prospects in a trade and then dollars in an extension, but I’d pay it to get the certainty. Players who are this good, this young typically wind up being all-time greats. (The correct answer is the Yankees should get both, by the way.)

As for the left field/right field question, Soto’s defense is not good. He has plenty of experience in both corners and isn’t good in either: -16 DRS and -10 OAA in left and +1 DRS and -8 OAA in right, and the eye test matches the numbers. He’s not particularly rangy or a good route runner. Soto is a best in the league kinda hitter, but he does give value back with his glove.

Aaron Judge looked comfortable in left in Spring Training and I’m sure he’d be okay out there. Judge in left and Soto in right is probably the way to go. Honestly though, I don’t want Judge running around so much at his age and after the toe injury. Put Soto in left and live with the defense. Left field defense isn’t that important, especially when you’re getting Soto’s bat.

(For what it’s worth, Andy Martino says the Yankees and Padres have already had preliminary talks about Soto. We were always going to hear this at some point. I’m surprised it happened before the World Series even started.)

Sam asks: Would you be interested in taking on say half of Xander Bogaerts contract to help acquire Juan Soto? Would the Padres even consider that? I would stick Xander at 3B for a couple years and then he can transition to 1B or 2B depending on Gleyber/Peraza future.

ANSWER: Half of Bogaerts’ contract is 10 years and $125M. Bogaerts had a typical Bogaerts year in 2023 (.285/.350/.440 and 120 wRC+), though that’s a pretty big chunk of change for a recently turned 31-year-old who is likely to move off shortstop soon. I know waiting a year to sign Soto doesn’t help the 2024 Yankees, but I think waiting the year is preferable to taking on $12.5M a year for Bogaerts through 2033.

I don’t think this is particularly realistic either. The Padres want to trim payroll down to $200M, but it won’t be too difficult with the money they already have coming off the books and a Soto trade. Even one year of Soto is valuable and would fetch a nice haul. I would be very surprised if the Padres are so desperate to unload money that they use Soto to dump $125M owed to Bogaerts.

More realistically, they might try to dump Jake Cronenworth’s seven years and $80M. He signed that extension last April and it doesn’t kick in until next year. Cronenworth could make sense for the Yankees as a versatile lefty hitting infielder who doesn’t strike out excessively, but the bat keeps going backwards, and he turns 30 in January.

Not sure I want to jump on that player when he has $80M coming to him through 2030. It is only $11.43M per year in luxury tax though, and if eating that gets you Soto at a discount, maybe it’s worth it? Then again, give me Bogaerts at $12.5M a year over Cronenworth at $11.43m a year. Why worry about the extra three years at that point? 2031-33 are gonna get wiped out the Great Manfred Lockout anyway.

Steve asks: Sorry for AFL questions b2b weeks, but Caleb Durbin has caught my eye with his success. He's been especially patient (11:6 K-BB ratio) and that tracks with his MiLB career. Was obviously old for his levels and hasn't slugged a ton in the Minors, but seems like a decent hitter to get back for Lucas Luetge. My question is two-fold: Where does Durbin stand in the organizational pecking order, and who is the next in his type of non-40-man target the Yankees should be targeting when offloading some 40-man excess? Apologies if that second question runs into your offseason plan!

ANSWER: As I sit down to write this Thursday afternoon, Durbin is hitting .347/.492/.612 with five doubles, two homers, 11 walks, and six strikeouts in 63 plate appearances in the Arizona Fall League. That’s after a .304/.395/.427 (132 wRC+) line with four homers and more walks (8.9%) than strikeouts (6.2%) in 291 plate appearances around an injury with High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset this season. Durbin’s a nice get for a fringe roster guy like Luetge. (The other player the Yankees received, righty Indigo Diaz, had Tommy John surgery in August.)

The scouting report on Durbin, who turns 24 in February and is listed at 5-foot-6 and 185 lbs., is that he’s a hard-nosed scrappy gamer type with no standout tool other than his ability to get the bat on the ball. There’s not much exit velocity behind that contact (though Durbin did set a new career best max exit velocity this year), so it’s a lot of ground balls and soft line drives, but he does put the ball in play. Defensively, he’s best suited for second base but can handle short and third in a pinch. I’ve likened him to Ronald Torreyes because they have very similar skill sets, though Torreyes was already a big leaguer when he was Durbin’s age.

Durbin only played 47 games in Double-A this season, so figure he starts back there next year, then moves up to Triple-A at midseason. He has to go on the 40-man roster next offseason, so if he does well next year, he’s going on someone’s 40-man. Even if Durbin’s future is as a utility guy, cheap utility guys have value. I’m not sure he’s a top 30 prospect in the system, I haven’t really dug into it yet, but it seems likely Durbin will play in the big leagues in some capacity.

As for the second question, it does run into the Offseason Plan. I’ve already done my “random lower level minor leaguers who could come back in a 40-man roster cleanup trade” research and I don’t want to spill the beans here, but they’re cut from the Durbin cloth. Recent draft picks (he was a 2021 14th rounder the Yankees acquired in Dec. 2022) and international signings who have not yet had their breakout season.

(Luetge allowed 11 runs in 13.2 innings around a biceps injury with the Braves this season. He spent much of the season as a non-40-man roster player in Triple-A because he accepted the outright assignment after being designated for assignment and clearing waivers. That allowed him to collect his entire $1.55M salary. Luetge doesn’t have enough service time to elect free agency and keep his contract after being outrighted.)

Carlos asks: I know you play “Franchise Mode” in MLB The Show, so fun question: how do YOU usually play? Do you like to keep it realistic with trades that could actually happen, or are you trying to build a super team and win 120 games a season?

ANSWER: I haven’t played The Show regularly since 2020, when the world shut down and we all spent entirely too much time at home. I got to 2029 or 2030 with a Pirates franchise and won a few World Series. I sim almost every game but do jump in once in a while when I feel like hitting or pitching or whatever. I never do a Yankees franchise. It’s just too much, watching the real life Yankees, writing about the real life Yankees, then playing with the fake Yankees. I need variety.

I barely played The Show 2021 and didn’t even buy 2022. I bought 2023 this year figuring I’d get back into it after essentially skipping two years -- the improvements from 2020 to 2023 are enormous -- and the gameplay is incredible and it’s the best franchise mode of any sports game, but I dunno, I just didn’t get hooked. I got to the 2024 All-Star break with an Athletics franchise and haven’t gone back to play in weeks.

To answer the question, I’ve done both, build a 120-win superteam (I think my all-time high is 125 wins) and tried to keep it realistic. It’s usually pretty easy to build powerhouse teams (in any sports game). You really have to police yourself with trades because the CPU is always willing to get ripped off. Small payroll teams like the Pirates and A’s provide more of a challenge.

My most satisfying sports video game experience ever was with NHL 18. That was the first year with expansion mode and I built an expansion team from scratch (Brooklyn Aces!) and eventually won the Stanley Cup in Year 7 or 8. If The Show ever adds an expansion mode, I’d be all over it. Once the World Series ends and I have more free time, I’ll tear into Spiderman 2. I’m not a huge gamer or anything. It’s just a good way to relax and unwind every now and then.

(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.)