June 1st, 2023: Donaldson, Kahnle, Stanton, Judge, Germán, Bader, Mailbag

Mike Petriello has a good breakdown of Anthony Rizzo’s season – .304/.376/.505 (146 wRC+) with 11 home runs! – and notes that while the limit on extreme infield shifts has helped, that’s not all it is. More than anything, Rizzo is hitting the ball better. Better contact, better placement, etc. Going from a .224 AVG last year to a .304 AVG this year is not just the result of a few grounders getting through the right side. Good write-up. Check that out. Now here is Friday morning’s post Thursday evening because the Yankees have an off-day.

1. The cavalry has arrived. The roster will look much different Friday night. Josh Donaldson, Tommy Kahnle, and Giancarlo Stanton are all off the injured list. They were activated earlier in the day Thursday. “I feel like for the most part, they’re ready to go,” Aaron Boone told Greg Joyce on Wednesday.

Donaldson (hamstring) and Kahnle (biceps) both played in several rehab games and it’s been a bit of an open secret they would return for the Dodgers series this weekend. Stanton is the surprise. He’s been out nearly seven weeks with his hamstring injury and played just one rehab game. Apparently that’s enough. Stanton and the Yankees deem him ready to return.

“There’s so many tools we have now that you can replicate – better than ever – at-bats and things like that,” Boone told Joyce. “In Giancarlo’s case, he’s been doing a lot of physical stuff as far as outfield work and the running buildup. But the hitting side of things, what they’re able to do behind the scenes to speed up that curve has grown exponentially, even over the last couple of years. So no, I’m not too worried about that.”

Stanton declared himself “ready to go” while speaking to Brendan Kuty (subs. req’d) earlier this week, and Boone said the plan is to DH him exclusively at first. It’ll be a few weeks until Stanton returns to the outfield. Mostly though, is he ready to hit big league pitching? Sitting out nearly seven weeks and then facing Clayton Kershaw in your first game back can’t be easy.

The Yankees tend to ease their players into action following an injury and the schedule lines up in such a way that Stanton (and Donaldson) can play Friday, sit Saturday, play Sunday, rest during the off-day Monday, then play Tuesday. We’ll see. I just hope they’re not rushing Stanton back and it looks like he’s swinging with his eyes closed for three weeks while he knocks the rust off.

As for the corresponding moves, the Yankees optioned Oswaldo Cabrera, Franchy Cordero, and Matt Krook to Triple-A earlier in the day Thursday. Cordero and Krook* were the proverbial 25th and 26th men on the roster, so of course they were going to be sent down. The Cabrera move is overdue. I love the guy, but he’s hitting .195/.246/.292 (46 wRC+). Doesn’t matter how versatile you are or how well you defend. You’re not gonna stick around with that batting line.

* Real bad job by Boone not getting Krook into the ninth inning of the 10-2 win Tuesday. Poor guy came up and sat unused in the bullpen for five days. Krook is still waiting to make his big league debut and who knows when the 28-year-old who’s had a few arm injuries will get called up again.

And the thing is, Cabrera has been working on stuff and making adjustments in an effort to get right at the plate. I made this GIF a few weeks ago but wound up not using it because I skipped a post when my cat was sick, and that was enough time for Cabrera to go from “maybe he’s starting to figure it out?” to “nevermind, he’s as bad as ever.”

Hitting coach Dillon Lawson talked to Max Goodman about replacing Cabrera’s leg kick with a toe tap around that time, but the production never came. Oswaldo went 4-for-36 (.111) in his last 14 games, and it’s not just that the hits aren’t falling in. Look at his spray chart as a lefty batter in those last 14 games (only two plate appearances as a righty in those 14 games):

Cabrera has rolled over on a ton of weak ground balls. He’s a mess at the plate and I gotta think his confidence has taken a hit, and the bottom line is the Yankees have better players for that roster spot. The demotion (probably) won’t be permanent. Once Oswaldo gets straightened out, the Yankees will bring him back. I hope it happens quickly. He’s a fun and useful player.

“Part of surviving and ultimately thriving here is to be able to deal with the successes and failures, and being able to make adjustments as the league constantly is making adjustments to you. Those are the separators,” Boone told Bryan Hoch about Cabrera. “He has a great head on his shoulders and he’s a really good player. We’ll just continue to work with him to try to make those adjustments.”

Getting Donaldson, Kahnle, and Stanton back could help the Yankees in so many ways, and not just the obvious “they’re available to play” ways. Consider:

• Stanton’s back in the lineup and will hopefully make an immediate impact..
• Kahnle can help lighten the load on the heavily-used high leverage relievers.
• DJ LeMahieu can play less and hopefully that makes him more productive.
• Cabrera can go reset and play every single day in Triple-A.
• We can redirect our Aaron Hicks boos at Donaldson.

It’s one step forward and one step back with this team with injuries (more on Harrison Bader in a bit), but Friday will be three steps forward. Three roster spots are being upgraded, potentially significantly, and every little bit helps in this division. The Yankees had the second best record in baseball in May and gained only two games in the AL East race. This division is a bear. Welcome back, fellas. I hope one or all of you can make a difference right away.

2. Weekday thoughts. With Wednesday’s loss, the Yankees are 2-9 in extra-inning road games since the start of last season. Only the Pirates (1-6) have a worse winning percentage. At home though, the Yankees are 13-2 in extra-inning games since the start of last year, the best winning percentage in baseball. The Yankees have been the best home team and second worst road team in extra innings since the start of last season. Feels like everything this team does is on the extremes, good or bad. There’s no middle ground. Anyway, here are a few thoughts on the last few games.

The underpaid $40M a year man

Things are at the point where I now find myself wondering if peak Aaron Judge is the best Yankees player of my lifetime. Not the best career, obviously. Judge has a very long way to go to catch up to some of the all-time greats who’ve passed through the Bronx the last four-ish decades. But is peak Judge, this monster 2022-23 version of him, the best Yankees player I’ve ever seen?

I marveled at 2007 Alex Rodriguez. I had a 20-game season ticket package that year and it felt like I saw him hit 30 home runs. Derek Jeter came close to hitting .350 with 30 homers in 1999. I was too young to fully take in Don Mattingly circa 1984-86, but I kinda sorta remember the great late-1980s version of him. Robbie Canó, Rickey Henderson, Paul O’Neill, Bernie Williams … plenty of great individual seasons there, but I don’t think any on par with 2022-23 Judge.

The fact that it’s not completely ridiculous to suggest 2022-23 Judge might be the best Yankees player of my lifetime speaks to how great Judge is right now, and has been since last Opening Day. It’s hard to single-handedly dominate in this sport because you can’t just go up to the plate in a big spot the way LeBron James can call for the ball, but Judge single-handedly dominates at times, like Monday. I mean:

• 3rd inning: 116.9 mph missile two-run homer off the foul pole.
• 5th inning: 104.7 mph double to left field, setting up a four-run inning.
• 6th inning: Casual 95.8 mph home run to dead center field.
• 8th inning: Robbed Teoscar Hernández of a homer with a full extension leap.

“It’s one of the great individual games you’ll see,” Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch. “Two homers, take one back, double, walk. What a day. I mean, what do you say?”

Wednesday night Mariners manager Scott Servais intentionally walked Judge with two outs and the bases empty in the ninth inning of a 0-0 game, and it was 100% the correct move. I get the “don’t put the winning run on base” logic but Judge with the bases empty is more likely to result in a run than Willie Calhoun with a runner on base*. That is the level of respect Judge gets and the level of fear he instills, and, in the end, it worked out for Seattle.

* I was a bit surprised Judge didn’t try to steal second in that situation. Then again, he just missed time because he jammed his hip on an awkward slide. If it keeps him on the field, then I am all for Judge not stealing bases.

Judge is hitting .342/.474/.882 (253 wRC+) with 12 home runs in 21 games since coming off the injured list and his season batting line is up .298/.410/.679 (190 wRC+). He’s not gonna hit 62 homers again (right?), though this year’s batting line is awfully close to last year’s .311/.425/.686 (207 wRC+) batting line. Confirmed: Judge is doing it again. There’s plenty of 100s here:

Dating back to last Opening Day, we’re closing in on 1,000 plate appearances of Judge being the best hitter the game has seen since Barry Bonds. And it’s not just offense! He played a bunch of center field last year and played it well, and is a good defensive right fielder too. Shohei Ohtani is in his own little universe. Among position players only, Judge is the best in the sport right now.

How the Aaron Judge story will end – will he win a World Series? will he make the Hall of Fame despite playing his first full MLB season at age 25? – I do not know. What I do know is that, right now, he’s as good as any player I’ve ever seen. Players like this come along maybe once in a generation, and I feel fortunate Judge wears pinstripes and I get to watch him every day. This is all-time great stuff we’re witnessing.

“The best player going right now,” Boone told Chris Kirschner in April (subs. req’d). “Hungry. Focused. He doesn’t take anything for granted. That’s what greatness looks like.”

Germán returns

Domingo Germán returned from his 10-game foreign substance suspension Monday and it was a typical Domingo Germán start. Four runs in 6.1 innings, partly because he made the mistake of walking the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters to begin the fifth inning, then paid for it on Julio Rodríguez’s two-run single. It was a Germán start we’ve seen a few dozen times before, you know?

“Overall, I thought he threw the ball well,” Boone told Greg Joyce. “I thought his stuff was good. Probably not his best command, but to pitch us into the seventh, he got us off to a good start on this trip.”

There were no issues with the sticky stuff checks or anything like that. Germán’s stuff was the same as always too. If anything, his velocity was up, possibly because he just took a 10-game vacation and felt rested. His spin rates were right in line with his season averages:

Not much else to note here and that’s a good thing. Germán returned from his suspension and it was business as usual. Just don’t go walking the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters to lead off an inning again. With all due respect to Julio and friends, a lineup better than what they have in Seattle will make you regret that mistake more than the Mariners did.

“I was just focused on getting the job done today, executing pitches, staying calm through different situations in the game, and I wanted to go as deep as possible,” Germán told Joyce. “Calm, clear plan of attack.”

On not pinch-hitting Rizzo

I've seen a lot of angst over Anthony Rizzo not pinch-hitting (despite multiple opportunities) in Wednesday’s loss and I totally get it. Before the game Boone told Kirschner that Rizzo, who’s been dealing with an achy neck since colliding with Fernando Tatis Jr. at first base Sunday, was “hopefully a player for us off the bench tonight” before the game, then he didn’t pinch-hit. Groan.

“It was going to be an emergency-only situation,” Boone told Randy Miller after the game about Rizzo’s availability. “Really good progress today. I’m hoping and expecting him to be in there Friday.”

I get why people are upset Rizzo didn’t pinch-hit, especially after Boone said he would “hopefully” be available, but I really don’t have a problem with it. First of all, there’s no reason for Boone to admit Rizzo is unavailable (let the Mariners think he could pinch-hit at some point, it’s fine), and if the neck is still bugging him, I’d rather not push it. Even for one at-bat, Rizzo is too important to risk it.

The larger issue is pinch-hitting Franchy Cordero, who is literally the last player I want hitting in an important spot, for Kyle Higashioka with the bases loaded and two outs in the tenth. Higashioka has been swinging the bat well! And if you must pinch-hit, you’re better off using Jose Trevino, who is much more likely to put the ball in play. Cordero can’t hit anything that isn’t straight and down the middle. He predictably struck out to end the inning. (Every single at-bat that inning was terrible. It was like everyone the Yankees sent to the plate forgot how to baseball.)

There are real issues with this offense and I don’t like letting them off the hook when they get shut down, but with Wednesday, I’m totally cool tipping my cap to George Kirby. He was electric. The loss is annoying because Clarke Schmidt and various relievers matched him zero for zero and gave the Yankees a chance, but Kirby was great, and I don’t fault the offense too much for that night.

"We knew we were getting an elite arm,” Greg Allen told Hoch after the game. “Also, we knew that the way that we put up the bats against the last two starters, they were going to come in definitely focused and poised and really wanting to execute. That's what he did.”

I don’t mind not pinch-hitting Rizzo, only because I don’t want to risk making his neck worse and turning a little thing into a big thing. I understand people are frustrated Boone indicated Rizzo could be available and didn’t use him, but eh. Word of advice: don’t take what Boone or any manager says to heart. They’re all intentionally misleading.

Off to LA

I’m really looking forward to this weekend’s Dodgers series. It is the game’s two marquee teams and most glamorous franchises, and there’s so much history. Yankees vs. Dodgers is the most common World Series matchup in history and those World Series included iconic moments like Don Larsen’s perfect game, Jackie Robinson stealing home, and Reggie Jackson’s three home runs.

The two fan bases are massive and can be found everywhere – there are a ton of Dodgers fans in New York because the team got its start in Brooklyn, and fandom tends to get passed down through generations – and, based on the last time the Yankees visited Dodger Stadium (Players Weekend* in 2019), the crowd will be electric. Here are the pitching matchups:

• Friday: RHP Luis Severino vs. LHP Clayton Kershaw
• Saturday: RHP Gerrit Cole vs. RHP Michael Grove
• Sunday: RHP Domingo Germán vs. RHP Bobby Miller

We miss Cole vs. Kershaw by one stinkin’ day, though Severino vs. Kershaw is pretty great too. Maybe even better than Cole vs. Kershaw given Cole’s last few starts.

The Dodgers are starting one all-time great and two rookies with 12 big league starts combined (10 by Grove). Miller is a recent first round pick and top prospect (No. 19 on MLB.com’s top 100 list), and he throws 100 mph. Looking forward to watching him. Too bad it’ll be an ESPN Sunday Night Game though. I prefer my Sunday baseball in the afternoon.

Last time the Yankees visited Dodger Stadium, James Paxton outpitched Kershaw and Germán outpitched Hyun-Jin Ryu, and the Yankees won two of three. Didi Gregorius hit an extremely cool grand slam (video). Going back even further, remember when the Yankees broke Jonathan Broxton (video)? That was somehow 13 years ago already. Good times.

Only the Rangers (18-9) had a better record than the Yankees (19-10) and Dodgers (18-10) in May. These two teams are playing their best baseball of the season, and there will be all the pomp and circumstance of two insanely popular franchises meeting for three games. As far as regular season series go, I can’t get more excited than I am for this one.

* Remember Players Weekend? That was fun, so of course MLB put an end to it.

Miscellany

Here are some random – but possibly meaningful! – numbers I looked up:

• DJ LeMahieu after a day off: .327/.407/.481 in 59 PA
• DJ LeMahieu all other days: .217/.268/.365 in 149 PA

A day off in this case means a team off-day or a day LeMahieu was on the bench. He’s mashed that first day back and been pretty bad when you start playing him two, three, four days in a row. Not a huge sample or anything, but it lends a little credence to the idea LeMahieu needs more time off his feet. When he rests, he’s very productive. When he plays every single day, things really slow down. Josh Donaldson will be back Friday and help get LeMahieu more rest days. His 35th birthday is coming up and he’s had some injuries the last few years. LeMahieu might just be a three games a week player now … Who had Jake Bauers with the Yankees’ first three-extra-base hit game by someone other than Judge this season? He’s the first non-Judge Yankee with three extra-base hits in a game since Donaldson went 4-for-5 with two doubles and a homer last Aug. 8th, coincidentally enough also in Seattle … And finally, Boone said “there’s no doubt in my mind Willie Calhoun can bang” on April 25th, and since then Calhoun is hitting .277/.344/.446 (117 wRC+) with more walks (9.7%) than strikeouts (8.6%). Hey, when Boone’s right, he’s right. Prior to Wednesday’s 0-for-4, Calhoun was in the middle of a 9-for-22 (.429) with four doubles hot streak. Props to him and Bauers and Isiah Kiner-Falefa for stepping up lately.

3. Bader injured (again). Unfortunately, injuries come with the territory with Harrison Bader, and he’s back on the injured list with a “low grade” right hamstring strain. He missed the first 30 games of the season with an oblique strain, played well for 26 games, and is now back on the injured list with the hamstring. It was an innocent enough looking play too (video).

“Probably be a couple weeks, but we’ll see,” Aaron Boone told Tim Booth about Bader’s time frame. “Obviously a guy like him really, really relies on his legs. It wasn’t bad, but enough to know that at least these 10 days are going to be needed.”

Bader slashed .267/.295/.511 (118 wRC+) with six homers and only 13.7% strikeouts in 95 plate appearances between injuries, and he managed to put up +4 DRS and +5 OAA in limited action. He’s fifth among full-time center fielders in DRS and second in OAA, and while you should be skeptical of small sample defensive stats, it matches the eye test. Bader’s terrific in center.

Alas and alack, a variety of injuries have limited Bader to 531 of 764 possible regular season games since 2018, or 70%. He’s had forearm soreness, a broken rib, plantar fasciitis, an oblique strain, a hamstring strain, plus other stuff. It’s not one chronic injury that keeps popping up. It’s something new every time. Sucks. That’s the way it is with some players.

Greg Allen and Isiah Kiner-Falefa have started the two games in center field since Bader got hurt, plus Aaron Judge saw time in center earlier this year. I imagine that’s still on the table. This may be the plan while Bader is on the injured list:

1. 2B Gleyber Torres
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. 1B Anthony Rizzo
4. DH Giancarlo Stanton
5. 3B Josh Donaldson/DJ LeMahieu
6. LF Jake Bauers/Willie Calhoun
7. CF Isiah Kiner-Falefa
8. C Jose Trevino
9. SS Anthony Volpe

“Just mix and match (in center),” Boone told Greg Joyce. “Depending on who we’re facing, what’s available to us, who’s pitching for us, we’ll just kind of piece it together. I don’t think it’ll be a real long thing for Harrison.”

Estevan Florial has hit .322/.432/.645 (164 wRC+) with 12 homers and 11 steals (and good contact quality numbers) in 38 Triple-A games. Why call up Franchy Cordero* instead of Florial? Because it was temporary. Cordero has already been optioned back down. Florial would have to have been added to the 40-man roster and then designated for assignment because he’s out of minor league options, all so he could spend two games on the bench.

* Franchy is hitting .348/.451/.565 (160 wRC+) with the RailRiders, by the way.

The Yankees could have kept Florial around longer term and started him in center field over Allen and whoever else, and at least get strong defense, but obviously they’re unwilling to do that. Florial is still striking out a ton (31.9% strikeouts and 15.6% swinging strikes), even more than his last two years in Triple-A, and the other 29 teams did just pass on him on waivers*. There aren’t many Florial believers out there.

* Counterpoint: Florial was put on waivers soon after Opening Day, right after teams set their rosters and were less likely to make a claim. The Yankees timed it the way they did for a reason. It’s possible a team(s) would claim Florial if he’s put on waivers now rather than right after everyone set their Opening Day roster.

All the short-term call ups and sporadic playing time tell us the Yankees don’t believe Florial can contribute at the big league level. What irks me is they won’t even give him a chance to prove them wrong. Teams are wrong all the time! And I get this is difficult to do when you’re contending in a brutal division, but man. If Florial doesn’t get a chance now, with the way he’s hitting in Triple-A and with Bader set to miss a few weeks, it’s hard to believe he ever will.

Well, anyway, Bader will miss a few weeks, and I don’t know whether that means two weeks or six weeks or something in between. Jose Trevino spent 12 days on the injured list with what the Yankees called a low grade hamstring strain and I’d sign up for a 12-day injured list stint for Bader right now. I fear it will be longer though given his injury history. We’ll see. Get well soon, Harrison. And please stay healthy when you return. It’s your free agent year, you know.

4. Mining the news. There’s a whole bunch of Yankees-related and Yankees-adjacent news out there I want to touch on, so let’s do that now.

Hicks to the O’s

Four days after being released by the Yankees, Aaron Hicks caught on with the Orioles. They signed him Tuesday, one day after Cedric Mullins went down with a groin injury. Mullins is expected to miss several weeks. The O’s owe Hicks the prorated league minimum the rest of the year. The Yankees are on the hook for the rest of the $30.5M he’s owed from 2023-25.

“He’s hopefully going to be the right guy at the right time to help us out from here,” O’s GM Mike Elias told Jake Rill, adding they had interest in signing Hicks even before Mullins got hurt. “We have stuff that we look at from a scouting and evaluation perspective that, as I’ve said before, it’s very different from just looking at the back of a baseball card.”

Hicks went 2-for-2 with a walk in his first game with Baltimore (and exited with a calf cramp). Seems like he’ll fill the same semi-platoon role with them that he kinda sorta had with the Yankees. At some point Hicks will have a good game or get a big hit, maybe even against the Yankees, and then the “why can’t the Yankees get players like that???” jokers will come out of the woodwork. Take it to the bank.

I like Hicksie and hope he can get his career on track, but also not really because he’s on an AL East rival? He couldn’t sign with, like, the Mariners or Padres? The O’s visit the Bronx from July 3-6. The Yankee Stadium crowd will boo Hicks into next week and also cheer when he makes an out, so I hope he hears a lot of cheers. Sorry Aaron, nothing personal.

“Hopefully it’s a good opportunity for him, and certainly wish him well,” Aaron Boone told Gary Phillips about Hicks catching on with the O’s. “Not too well being in our division on a team we’re chasing, but hopefully it’s a really good fit for him.”

Braves designate Luetge for assignment

The Braves designated old pal Lucas Luetge for assignment earlier this week. He’s allowed 11 runs and 21 baserunners in 9.2 innings around a month-long biceps issue this season. Atlanta has had a ton of pitching injuries and has cycled through last-guy-in-the-bullpen types in recent days. Luetge was cut to clear a roster spot for 20-year-old (!) AJ Smith-Shawver.

Now 36, Luetge is making $1.55M this season and he doesn’t have enough service time to elect free agency and keep his contract. If he elects free agency, he gives up the contract, and I can’t see that happening. One of two things will happen: Luetge will accept a Triple-A assignment and collect the rest of his $1.55M, or the Braves will release him and pay him to go away.

The Yankees have also been cycling through last-guy-in-the-bullpen types, and although Luetge is a cool guy who had two good years in pinstripes, I don’t see a reunion happening. If the Braves release him and he’ll take a minor league contract, then absolutely. Sign him. But a waiver claim or a Major League deal that puts him right on the big league roster? Seems unlikely.

I hope Luetge is able to catch on somewhere and have success. It’s really easy to root for him. But, as I wrote over the winter, Luetge is the kinda guy who is always 3-4 bad appearances away from never pitching in the big leagues again. That’s just the way it is with journeyman relievers on the wrong side of 35. Hopefully Luetge gets another chance, with the Yankees or otherwise.

(The Yankees traded Luetge to the Braves for infielder Caleb Durbin and righty Indigo Diaz. Durbin’s having a nice season. Diaz walked 16 batters in 19 innings with Double-A Somerset and was recently demoted to High-A Hudson Valley.)

Rodriguez lands on injured list

Tigers lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, who figures to be one of the most sought after starters at the trade deadline, was placed on the injured list with a “ruptured A4 pulley” in his left index finger the other day. He’ll be reevaluated in 10 days, though my understanding is it’s a serious injury and typically comes with a 10-12 week recovery. It’s an injury most common in rock climbers, apparently.

“It’s always hard to lose one of your better players,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told Jason Beck. “But it’s one of five days. We continue to hope that it’s a quick return, but it is what it is.”

Rodriguez, who turned only 30 in April, was having a fantastic start to the season, pitching to a 2.13 ERA (3.17 FIP) with strong strikeout (25.5%), walk (6.1%), and barrel (5.6%) rates. He has typically been a reliable innings eater and he’s AL East battle-tested after all those years with the Red Sox. I could see the Yankees (and plenty of other teams) showing interest.

Teams are not opposed to trading for injured players (see: Bader, Harrison) though the injury further complicates Rodriguez’s already complicated trade value. He can opt out of the final three years and $49M remaining on his contract after this season. Trade for Rodriguez and he’s good, and he’ll opt out. But, if he’s bad and/or hurt, you’re stuck with him.

Carlos Rodón will be a major factor in the Yankees’ deadline plans. If he’s healthy and dominant, the Yankees may only look to add a depth starter (think Jaime García or Andrew Heaney), if they add a starter at all. If Rodón is hurt or ineffective though, the Yankees will probably need to think about getting a quality starter. Someone they can start in October. Maybe that means Rodriguez, maybe it means someone else. Either way, Rodriguez will now be out a while with the injury.

(Also, the Tigers are only two games out in the AL Central. They’re 26-28 and two games out! Must be nice being in that division, eh? With Rodriguez and Riley Greene hitting the injured list this week though, Detroit may not hang around the race much longer, even in that weak division.)

Hendriks rejoins White Sox

Feel-good story alert: Liam Hendriks rejoined the White Sox earlier this week. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in January, went through chemotherapy and completed his treatment, went on a rehab assignment, and was activated Tuesday. Hendriks received a huge ovation when took the mound for the first time (video), as you’d expect.

“Yeah, it was great being back out there,” Hendriks told Scott Merkin after the game. “Getting back, putting cleats on, running out, doing all that. I felt good, I felt strong, I felt comfortable out there.”

As for the actual pitching, it didn’t go so well. Hendriks allowed two runs on three hits and a walk in his inning, and his fastball was down 2 mph from last season (he still averaged 95.6 mph). That’s understandable though, right? He just went through weeks of chemo and pitched in only six rehab games. Hendriks is likely still building arm strength.

The White Sox are quite bad (23-35 and seven games out in the terrible AL Central) and there are rumblings they will fire GM Rick Hahn and sell at the deadline. Hendriks isn’t cheap (owed the rest of his $14M salary this year plus $15M next year if traded), but he’s been one of the best relievers in the game the last few years, and would stabilize the ninth inning for the Yankees. Assuming he rebuilds arm strength after his cancer battle, of course.

I’m not sure what the ChiSox are thinking but it feels like they’d have to go to Hendriks and get his permission to trade him, even though he doesn’t have a no-trade clause. Just as a courtesy, you know? The guy’s been through a lot and he’s a leader in the clubhouse. Moving him at the deadline may make baseball sense, sure, but it could be seen as a pretty crappy thing on a human level.

Do the Yankees have the appetite for a $15M a year reliever? No idea, but they should be open to it. It’s short-term and they can afford it. Assuming Hendriks can get back to being Liam freaking Hendriks in the coming weeks, and assuming he’s open to a trade, I’d love the Yankees to pursue him. Hendriks would really help settle the bullpen.

All-Star Game voting opens

Fan voting for the 2023 All-Star Game starters is underway. Here’s the ballot. As a reminder, it’s a two-step process now. The first vote runs from May 31st to June 22nd, then there’s a runoff with the top three vote-getters at each position from June 16-29. Fans pick the starting position players. The rest of the rosters are chosen through player voting and the commissioner’s office.

I’m planning to look at Yankees candidates for the All-Star Game, Futures Game, and Home Run Derby at some point. It’s a little too early now, but soon enough. Right now, on June 1st, I’d say Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge, and Anthony Rizzo are All-Star Game locks. Cole’s had a few shaky starts lately, but he’s still clearly one of the league’s best. Judge and Rizzo are easy calls.

And those three might be it? American League second basemen are horrible this season. As I write this Wednesday afternoon, only two of the top eight full-time second basemen in WAR play for AL teams. Marcus Semien has been great and should be an All-Star, and Jose Altuve might win the fan voting again. If Altuve skips the All-Star Game to avoid being booed during pregame introductions for the third straight year, it could open the door for Gleyber Torres.

Otherwise there’s … Mike King? Maybe Clay Holmes if he goes on a real heater these next few weeks? That’s about it. Cole, Judge, and Rizzo are pretty safe bets with the All-Star Game still six weeks away. Maybe Torres, maybe King. That’s about it. Anyway, go vote, if that’s your thing.

MLB takes over Padres broadcasts

The cable bubble is starting to burst. Earlier this week MLB took over production and distribution of Padres broadcasts after Diamond Sports Group, which operates all the Bally Sports regional networks, failed to make a rights fee payment. Diamond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March and is now in the process of dumping the teams it doesn’t want. Missing the rights fee payment allowed MLB to cancel the contract and take back media rights.

Back when Diamond first filed bankruptcy, Ron Manfred said the league was ready to act quickly to take over broadcasts and distribution, and he wasn’t kidding. MLB had deals in place with local cable providers only hours after Diamond missed their payment. Here’s how those in the Padres home market can watch the team:

Wednesday was MLB’s first Padres broadcast and, other than the rebranded graphics, it was impossible to tell it was being produced by the league and not Bally Sports. MLB is using all the same people (announcers, producers, camera crew, etc) and it was a seamless transition. The league just has to figure out pregame and postgame shows.

The good news: local blackouts have been lifted and Padres fans in the club’s home market can watch the Padres on MLB.tv. The bad news: they must subscribe to the MLB.tv single team plan to do so. So they need separate MLB.tv subscriptions for the Padres ($20 per month or $75 per year) and all other teams ($25 per month or $140 per year). That’s kinda lame, MLB.

Alden Gonzalez reports the Diamondbacks, Guardians, Rangers, and Reds are potentially next in line to make the Diamond-to-MLB broadcast transition. Bally still broadcasts 13 MLB teams plus a bunch of NBA and NHL teams. What this means for revenue, I do not know, though Manfred said the league will cover up to 80% of what affected teams are owed.

“In order to help the clubs, we said to them, ‘No matter what happens, we’ll backstop you at 80% of what you expected,’” Manfred said during the Diamond bankruptcy hearing Wednesday (per Evan Drellich). “We arrived at that number as something that would prevent financial distress at the club level, ability to pay players and those things … We wanted them to have enough cash flow to prevent a disruption of our business.”

As of 2019, Diamond owned a 20% stake in the YES Network, and I haven’t the slightest idea what their bankruptcy means for the Yankees. Could be no impact for all I know. If there is an effect, we’ll hear about it eventually, and figure it all out. Right now though, a seismic change to the sports media landscape is underway. The Padres are just the first domino.

5. 2023 draft prospect: Arizona OF Chase Davis. The 2023 MLB Draft will take place during the All-Star break and the Yankees hold the No. 26 pick. Here are the 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 happen to like.

Davis, 21, is one of the many college players in this draft who got squeezed out of the five-round 2020 draft as a highly regarded high schooler. He’s hit .369/.496/.757 (181 wRC+) with 21 home runs and more walks (15.6%) than strikeouts (14.8%) this spring. Davis has been compared to Carlos González for both his offensive potential and his sweet bat drop:

Davis did not play much in the Cape Cod League last summer and hit .212/.379/.250 with 20.0% walks and 24.2% strikeouts in 66 plate appearances against top competition. Lots of walks, didn’t strike out excessively, but also didn’t do much when he put the ball in play. Here are Davis’ current draft rankings:

• Baseball America (subs. req’d): No. 28
• ESPN (subs. req’d): No. 36
• FanGraphs: Unranked
• Keith Law (subs. req’d): No. 35
• MLB.com: No. 39

Davis has made significant gains this year, most notably improving his contact rate from 69% last year to over 80% this year, per Carlos Collazo (subs. req’d). He’s also put up a 108 mph 90th percentile exit velocity this spring. Only a handful of Division I players combine that contact rate with that exit velocity. Here’s video and here’s MLB.com’s free scouting report:

Since his high school days, Davis has been known for his tremendous raw power from the left side of the plate. In 2022, the outfielder started to learn how to really tap into it. He has the ability to drive the ball to all fields, with plenty of opposite-field pop and a buggy whip of a swing. There is some swing-and-miss to his game, though he was starting to show in his junior year that he can hit enough to get to that power.

A physical specimen (6-foot-1 and 216 lbs.), Davis has average speed to a tick above. He played left field for all of the 2022 season but played center on the Cape. Any team considering Davis in the top couple of rounds might want to send him out at center to see how he plays at the next level, knowing the power profile could fit back in an outfield corner.

In a piece highlighting draft risers, Collazo (subs. req’d) calls Davis “one of the most fascinating players in the class” and says he “seems to check off a ton of boxes, whether you are looking at raw tools, basic performance numbers or underlying hitting metrics.”

Not much to add here. The Yankees have taken a left-handed hitting college player with hard-hit ability, good athleticism, and a chance to play an up-the-middle position with each of their last three first round picks, and Davis fits the bill. Similar to Spencer Jones, Davis is a boom-or-bust type who offers more upside than the usual late first round college bat.

Mailbag Questions of the Week

Gabriel asks: Mike, Cole seems to be a different pitcher his last 3/5 starts. You’ve written about how he has been a fastball/ slider dominant pitcher which is something to watch. Any credence it may coincide with German/ Schmidt getting noticed about sticky stuff a month ago? Cole has a history with sticky stuff and may just be more really good than great without tacky stuff. Maybe he’s trying to lay low for the time being. Do the numbers or spin rate support it?

I hadn’t considered that. Aaron Boone said the Yankees will police themselves and check pitchers in the dugout, so I guess this is possible. The spin rate numbers don’t support that theory though. If anything, Cole’s spin rates have been up slightly the last few times out:

Cole did not allow a home run in his first seven starts and he’s since allowed eight home runs in his last five starts, including two homers in four of those five starts. Six of the eight homers came on fastballs too. Velocity and spin buys you margin of error, but make a mistake, and big league hitters can still put in the seats. Here are the home run pitch locations:

Not much of a mystery, eh? Cole is leaving pitches in the heart of the plate and paying for it. We know why he’s giving up more homers. It’s because he’s making more mistakes. Why is Cole making more mistakes? That’s what he and Matt Blake and everyone else has to figure out. With any luck, it’s just a slump. Pitching slumps happen just like hitting slumps.

To answer Gabriel’s question, nah, there’s nothing in the spin rates to suggest Cole has cut back on sticky stuff in the wake of Domingo Germán getting suspended. He’s said several times lately that his command is off, and we’ve seen it not just in the homers, but also in a few more walks and longer at-bats.

Daniel asks: What on earth are the Yankees doing with Peraza? Here we have a 22 year old infielder pushing almost at .330, tearing the cover off the ball, stealing bases, and generally showing he is learning nothing. Help us understand!

Peraza has gone deep nine times in his last 13 Triple-A games, including twice Wednesday, and he’s hitting .346/.398/.663 (162 wRC+) with the RailRiders this season. He has 563 career plate appearances in Triple-A, which sure seems like plenty, especially considering what he’s doing this year. Here are his contact quality numbers, which are good more than great:

• Average exit velocity: 87.0 mph (Triple-A average: 87.8 mph)
• Hard-hit rate: 41.8% (Triple-A average: 37.5%)
• Barrel rate: 17.7% (Triple-A average: 17.6%)

Context is important and Peraza is still only 22 (23 in two weeks). He’s five years younger than the average International League player, and just about every night he’s facing pitchers with big league experience. Peraza isn’t some bat-first corner outfielder. He’s a glove-first shortstop, so exit velocity and the like is not central to his game. Average-ish contact quality is fine.

When it comes to prospect readiness, I am totally cool deferring to teams because they know so much more than us, but the Peraza situation is difficult to understand. By all accounts they love the kid, but they didn’t play him at third base much when Josh Donaldson hit the injured list, and they didn’t play him much last September either. Maybe they don’t like him as much as they say?

I’m of the belief that if you have a talented young player and you think he’s ready, you do what you have to do to get him in the lineup. Move guys around, use the DH spot, whatever. There is so much versatility and load management built into today’s game that it’s never too difficult to get guys in the lineup, especially when you have as many injuries as the Yankees.

I can’t explain why the Yankees have kept Peraza in Triple-A. There was an opportunity to play him last September and also earlier this year, and for the most part the Yankees passed them up. The Yankees are generally pretty good at knowing who’s worth keeping and who’s not, and maybe Peraza falls into the “not” category. I don’t know. This is a bit perplexing.

(It’s entirely possible this is service time related. My unofficial math says Peraza has to spend another 27 days in Triple-A to push his free agency back a year.)

Justin asks: I think it is pretty clear the Yanks will be trading Peraza at the trade deadline. What lefty hitting left fielder could he fetch? Or another option?

I don’t agree that Oswald Peraza will pretty clearly be dealt at the deadline, but let's answer the question anyway. The Giants stand out as a great trade match. They have two good lefty bats (Michael Conforto and Joc Pederson) and a quality starter (Alex Cobb), and they lack a long-term shortstop. Thairo Estrada is more of a second baseman and the recently called up Casey Schmitt is more of a third baseman. Peraza would fit very well in San Francisco.

Conforto started slowly this season, possibly because he missed all last year and needed a little time to shake off the rust, but he’s mashed lately: .289/.371/.544 (148 wRC+) in May, getting him to .250/.347/.464 (123 wRC+) on the season. Eleven homers, 25.5% strikeouts, 11.7% walks, 10.9% swinging strikes … I’m a fan (I signed Conforto as part of my Offseason Plan) and I would love to plop him into left field and into the No. 5 lineup spot down the stretch.

Cobb had a tough start last time out, though he’s still running a 3.05 ERA (3.67 FIP) with a 60.6% ground ball rate, the highest in baseball. The Yankees love power sinkers and ground ballers, so Cobb is right up their alley. Also, he has a $10M club option ($2M buyout) for next season. That’s very reasonable. It’s so reasonable that, even if you don’t want to keep Cobb, you can pick up the option and trade him. The Trade Values site says:

The thing is, the Giants have won 11 of their last 16 games to get back into the postseason race, in part because of Cobb and Conforto. They might not even be available at the deadline! This is all hypothetical though. Ideally the Yankees would trade Peraza for a young lefty hitting outfielder. Getting a middle of the order bat and a quality starter would be a good return too.

I am not opposed to trading Peraza and I don’t think the Yankees are either, though I don’t believe they are eager to move him. Their handling of him has been a little weird and a lot frustrating, and I don’t know how they plan to get him into the lineup unless they trade Gleyber Torres or put him at third. Hopefully the Giants fall out of the race and we can circle back and talk about them as a trade partner, with or without Peraza being involved.

Dan asks: So on today’s game (5/25), the home plate umpire consistently refused to call the outside corner for Clark Schmidt but called it for the Oriole pitcher. Michael Kay suggested that Schmidt taking steps toward the dugout was going to alienate the umpire. The difference in calls just seemed particularly egregious to me. Am I overreacting as a fan or is there something to this?

Aggravating the umpire by hopping toward the dugout, and thus getting fewer calls, is one of those things that sounds true, but is it really? According to the Umpire Scorecard, Edwin Moscoso’s strike zone wasn’t egregious that night, though it did favor the Orioles.

Ben Rortvedt did Clarke Schmidt any favors that night. He stabbed at the ball quite a bit on that walk to Henderson. Watch the video. Rortvedt’s hands were anything but quiet and that could have cost Schmidt a strike or two.

Schmidt does that hop toward the dugout on potential inning-ending strike threes all the time and I can understand how it would annoy umpires (it kinda annoys me watching at home), but does it lead to less favorable calls? I mentioned this the other day: umpires are graded on everything, and if there’s a bias or series of incorrect calls, it’ll show up. Grudges aren’t really a thing unless you want to sabotage your job performance and evaluation.

Schmidt’s called strike rate is only 38.8% this year, comfortably below the team average (47.8%) and the league average (46.7%). It’s not the lowest on the staff though (Albert Abreu is at 36.6%). Is it so low because he’s hopping off the mound? Or because he’s always kinda around the zone but not too often in it, leading to inconsistent calls? I dunno.

I try not to get annoyed by umpires. Yeah, they blow calls, and sometimes they’re egregious and costly, but they’re correct most of the time. I prefer to focus on the players, who are why I watch in the first place. Schmidt didn’t get a few calls against Henderson last week, but the Orioles didn’t score in the inning, and the offense scored one dang run in the game. The problem seems clear to me.

(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.)