RAB Thoughts

March 17th, 2023: Trevino, Kiner-Falefa, Severino, Cordero, Ramirez, Mailbag

Added 2023-03-17 10:00:04 +0000 UTC

Stephanie Apstein has a fun story about the Yankees not providing WiFi on team flights. The players have to pay for it. The Yankees and Reds are the only teams that don’t provide WiFi and yeah, they should stop being cheap and pay for it, but I’m not going to feel bad for guys at that income level shelling out $10 to scroll through Instagram. Anyway, the players gave a few funny anecdotes – “I didn’t pay for it, on principle,” Jameson Taillon said – like Mike King still being on his parents’ family phone plan and Kyle Higashioka not knowing whether he can expense things because he’s never had a real job. Fun read. Check it out. Let’s get to today’s post.

1. Grapefruit League observations. Hal Steinbrenner was in camp earlier this week and, when asked to assess his team, he said “Do I think we’re good enough to win a championship now? Yes,” according to Erik Boland. Hal said something similar every year from 2018-22, but I assure you that quote is from 2023. Seems clear he defines championship-caliber as “be good enough to get to the postseason and hope things break your way,” and nothing more. Very inspiring. Now for a few thoughts on the last few days.

Great, now Trevino’s hurt too

Yet another catcher is hurt, and it’s not another minor leaguer either. Jose Trevino suffered a right wrist sprain on a swing last Thursday. Tests showed no structural damage, though he may need an injection at some point. For now, the doctors don’t believe it’s necessary, and they’re aiming to get Trevino back in the lineup early next week. He’s optimistic for Opening Day.

“I feel really good today (Wednesday). I felt like I made a lot of progress in the past couple days. I’m super positive about it, like I feel very confident in it,” Trevino told Max Goodman. “... I feel very confident (I’ll be ready for Opening Day).”

This is the fourth upper level catcher injury the Yankees have suffered this spring (Ben Rortvedt’s aneurysm is a medical condition more than a baseball injury, but you know what I mean). The current catcher depth chart:

1. Jose Trevino (right wrist sprain)
2. Kyle Higashioka
3. Ben Rortvedt (aneurysm)
4. Josh Breaux (elbow)
5. Austin Wells (broken rib)

The Yankees signed journeyman Nick Ciuffo last week to give them a little more Triple-A caliber depth. Might another catcher signing be in the cards? The Angels just released José Godoy, who has big league time. After this many injuries the Yankees don’t have the luxury of being picky. They need able bodies who know how to play the sport’s most demanding position.

“He’s just got some inflammation in there. It should probably only be a couple more days,” Aaron Boone told Mark Sanchez about Trevino's injury. “I’m not too worried about it right now for the season. So I’m hoping by the weekend, he’s back in there.”

This is gonna sound mean but I’m not sure we’d notice if the injury takes away from Trevino’s offense. Outside of the first half last year, he’s been a pretty weak hitter throughout his career. It is his throwing arm though and Trevino’s gonna need that behind the plate, particularly with the new rules expected to lead to more stolen base attempts and successful steals.

Not much more to say about Trevino’s injury right now other than I hope it's minor and he’s back in the lineup soon. The catcher depth chart is extremely thin now. Losing Trevino or Higashioka for a stretch would be a significant blow considering guys like Ciuffo and Rodolfo Durán are next in line. The gap between Trevino and Higashioka and their potential replacements is massive.

IKF the CF

All signs point to a kid being the starting shortstop. I don’t know if it’ll be Oswald Peraza or Anthony Volpe, but it seems Isiah Kiner-Falefa is out of the race. He’s bounced between different positions the last few days while the kids have stayed on the middle infield, and Kiner-Falefa will play center field Friday. He’s played two career games in center, both back in Double-A.

“I think it’s just good to add some tools,” Kiner-Falefa, who has been a total pro through all this, told Bryan Hoch. “Shortstop is obviously the second-hardest position on the field after being a catcher, so adding center field to my resume a little bit is good. Just being able to play there in a pinch if something happens and the team needs me … The more versatility, the better, especially now the way the game is going. I think it’s a win-win.”

Kiner-Falefa has taken fly balls in the outfield the last few days and I think he could be good out there? He’s a good athlete and has speed, and his problems completing routine plays (bobbling ground balls, making poor throws, etc.) might not carry over into the outfield. How are his reads and routes? Does he know which base to throw to? That stuff is the great unknown.

Prompted by Jazz Chisholm’s move from second to center, Mark Simon examined middle infielders who moved to center field within the last 20 years, and found a) there aren’t many of them, and b) none fared well. Lots of guys move from the infield to the outfield in the minors (Mookie Betts, etc.) but very few have done it successfully a few years into their MLB careers.

Kiner-Falefa’s not making the move to center field full-time though. He’s a utility guy looking to increase his versatility, not transition to a full-time role at a new position. Think of him as Marwin Gonzalez’s replacement. Oswaldo Cabrera is the super utility guy who will play regularly while Kiner-Falefa is the last guy on the bench (and also the primary pinch-runner).

That’s a nice idea in theory, though I worry Kiner-Falefa will still play too much because Boone will look for ways to get him in the lineup. That’s a Boone problem (and a Yankees problem in general) though, not a Kiner-Falefa problem. It’s Spring Training and the guy is moving into a utility role. Why wouldn’t the Yankees at least give him a look in center? Even if Harrison Bader was healthy, it would be worth a few innings. Hopefully Kiner-Falefa takes to it well.

“He’s worked in the outfield the last couple of days and I looked at some video of it the other day, just watching how his feet move and stuff,” Boone told Hoch. “I think he’d be natural out there (given) the ability to move around, his speed and athleticism, his bat-to-ball (ability).”

Sevy’s shaky spring

Luis Severino’s rough Grapefruit League season continued Wednesday: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 4 K on 61 pitches. He got “rolled” in the first inning, meaning Severino was pulled in the middle of the inning so a reliever could clean up his mess, then he went back out for the second. In four spring starts Severino has allowed 13 runs in 11 innings.

“That’s not going to work in the big leagues. In the season, it’s going to be better than that,” Severino told Hoch following Wednesday’s game. “... Right now (in Spring Training), it’s not going to be the same adrenaline out there. I’m trying to work on pitches and see which one is going to work when I need it up there.”

Severino said his fastball command was not there yet Wednesday. That’s after saying his slider needs more work following his previous start. “My slider sucks. That’s what (hitters are) telling me right now. I need to work more on my slider. It’s not the movement, it’s just location, actually,” Severino told Greg Joyce last week.

Last spring Severino had an 8.22 ERA with more walks than strikeouts, then he allowed three runs total in his first three regular season starts, so the switch can be flipped. Still, I’d like to hear less “my slider stinks and I can’t locate my fastball” and more “things are coming together,” you know? I know it wouldn’t necessarily mean anything, but it would be nice to hear.

The numbers on Severino’s stuff (velocity, spin, movement, etc.) are mostly okay. His slider has had about two fewer inches of drop this spring than last season, so it’s hanging up a bit more, but nothing too crazy. The vertical break is still within the range he showed last year, just closer to one extreme. Here are his pitch locations:

Lots of fastballs in the middle of the zone and too many sliders in the zone rather than down and away to righties, which jibes with Severino saying his location stinks. Given his injury history, the No. 1 concern is a loss of stuff, though the numbers say he’s okay there. Poor location? Yeah, that can be injury related too, but many times it isn’t. Bad location is more encouraging than bad stuff, if that makes sense.

Severino still has two Grapefruit League starts remaining and I hope to see him dial it in between now and then. It would make me feel better even though I know Spring Training numbers aren’t all that meaningful with veterans who are going through the motions. This is Severino’s free agent year. It’s a big year. I hope Severino comes out of the gate well and stays healthy, and makes himself a lot of money and helps the Yankees win.

“I really feel like he’s in a good spot,” Boone told Hoch. “I feel like he’s throwing the ball well. It’s there. With Sevy, as we get closer and once we get into the season, I think he thrives on that added (adrenaline). I would say I’m as encouraged about him as I’ve been this spring. He’s just got to dial in that next level of his command.”

Cordero out of options?

Jimmy Cordero, aka Jimmy Biceps, has had an unremarkable spring. He got dinged for three runs in 1.1 innings Sunday, but even ignoring that, he’s struck out only four of 26 batters faced (15.3%) and gotten only nine ground balls among 21 balls in play (42.9%). Cordero’s sinker has sat 97-99 mph and the slider is around 90 mph, so the stuff is there. The results aren’t yet.

“I really like him,” Boone told Max Goodman earlier this week. “Power arm, been commanding the ball how he wants. Think he’s got a chance to get both sides out. I feel like he’s going to be a key piece for us.”

I brought up Cordero mostly because I want to note that, according to MLBTR, he is out of minor league options. FanGraphs says he has one option remaining. Someone is wrong and I don’t know who (this stuff is difficult to track and I don’t blame either site). I guess this means I have to do the math, huh? Jimmy Biceps was first added to a 40-man roster in Nov. 2015. Since then:

2016: Spent entire year in minors. Definitely burned an option.
2017: Spent entire year in minors. Definitely burned an option.
2018: Spent 11 days in minors on optional assignments.
2019: Spent 114 days in minors on optional assignments.

There are several waiver claims and even a DFA in there, but that’s the important stuff. Players must spend 20 days in the minors while on the 40-man roster to burn an option. Cordero did not do that in 2018. He was optioned for only 11 days. He was definitely down for 20 days in 2016, 2017, and 2019 though. So, he’s out of options. (I think my math is correct?)

If Cordero is indeed out of options and must pass through waivers to go to Triple-A, it changes the bullpen outlook a bit. The Yankees have three open bullpen spots because of injuries and I assume a) Albert Abreu, who is also out of options, will get one, and b) one will go to someone capable of pitching multiple innings. A long man type (Matt Krook?).

The third spot could go to Cordero. That’s nice and easy. Or it could go to Greg Weissert if the Yankees are unimpressed with Cordero’s spring work. Or Matt Bowman, Ian Hamilton, or one of several others. But with Cordero appearing to be out of options, that means no shuttling up and down this year. I had him penciled in as a heavily used shuttle reliever. Shrug.

Cordero got the YES Network feature interview treatment a few days ago, which leads me to believe he’s in decent shape to make the roster. He did solid work in Triple-A in his return from Tommy John surgery last year (2.09 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 31.8 K%, 51.7 GB%) and had a nice year with the White Sox in 2019. Cordero also has the power sinker the Yankees love. For roster flexibility purposes, it kinda stinks he’s out of options, but it’s not the end of the world either.

“I don’t want to take (a roster spot) like this. Nobody wants to see somebody get hurt. They are my teammates, I want everybody to be ready for competition, you know? I don’t feel really good about it. They’re gonna be good and come back very soon,” Cordero told Goodman. “... I’ve been working hard and everything is showing up right now. Everything’s going well for sure.”

Ramirez’s new slider

Non-roster lefty Nick Ramirez has struck out eight of 23 batters faced this spring (34.8%) after registering a 23.7% strikeout rate in Triple-A with the Mariners last season. Small sample size and all that, but Ramirez talked about a new slider early in camp, and he is definitely throwing a new slider. The strikeout uptick may not be a total fluke. Here's the velocity vs. horizontal movement graph:

Ramirez has only thrown 5.2 innings this spring, so small sample caveats and whatnot, but this is definitely a different pitch. His slider has more horizontal break than ever before, more spin than ever before (an additional 10% or so), and a little less velocity than ever before too. Those are textbook sweeper characteristics. Less velocity, more spin, more sideways break.

Also, Ramirez is throwing this slider more often too. He threw 10% sliders the last two seasons. It’s up to 30% this spring, and while that could be a “working on a new pitch in Spring Training” thing, I think there’s a little more to it. Ramirez indeed has a new slider. The slider he’s throwing this spring is nothing like the cutter-ish sliders he sparsely threw from 2019-21.

“(The Mariners last year) were pretty much saying they weren’t going to call me up because I didn’t have a slider for lefties,” Ramirez told Randy Miller last month. “... I think this year it’s going to be a game-changer. Now I have a pitch for righties and lefties. My changeup is my best pitch. I use that on righties a lot. And now I have the new slider for lefties where I swoop the ball away from them.”

Wandy Peralta is the only lefty lock for the bullpen, though Krook could make it as the early season long man. Two years ago Lucas Luetge impressed in camp with a new breaking ball, and made the Opening Day roster because Justin Wilson got hurt. Perhaps the Tommy Kahnle and Lou Trivino injuries open the door for Ramirez? If nothing else, he’s reshaped his arsenal a bit and is a different pitcher now than the one who produced a career 4.55 ERA (4.60 FIP) in 110.2 MLB innings.

“I think the Yankees brought me here for a reason,” Ramirez told Miller. “But I have to perform. There’s no way around that.”

Latest roster moves

Minor league spring games started Wednesday and Opening Day is less than two weeks away. The roster cuts are coming in bunches now. Here are the latest: RHP Matt Bowman, OF Jasson Domínguez, RHP Demarcus Evans, RHP Deivi García, OF Michael Hermosillo, LHP Lisandro Santos, LHP Tanner Tully, RHP Ryan Weber, and UTIL Jamie Westbrook. All were sent to minor league camp.

I’m pleasantly surprised Domínguez stuck around as long as he did. Just turned 20-year-olds are usually among the first cuts. Domínguez hit .455/.520/1.045 with one double, four homers, three walks, and three strikeouts this spring. He was never making the Opening Day roster no matter how well he hit. He’s barely played above High-A!. Domínguez needs time at Double-A and Triple-A. It’s fine. What a ride though. Between Domínguez and Volpe, this was a very fun spring for prospect watching. Give ‘em hell in Somerset, Jasson.

García had 7.1 good innings this spring and showed more velocity than ever. Ultimately, it is only 7.1 innings, and they don’t erase the last two years. Deivi still has a lot to work on and he should go work on those things in minor league camp and Triple-A. Santos has looked good this spring (sat 95-97 mph). He also has 18.1 career innings above High-A, so minor league camp it is.

All the other recent cuts are journeymen and the usual Triple-A fodder (Tully has quietly thrown 5.2 shutout innings this spring). Here is the updated Spring Training roster. Crossed out players have already been sent to minor league camp and an asterisk means the player is out of minor league options and must pass through waivers to go to Triple-A.

I have Abreu, Cordero, Florial, and Krook on the MLB roster as placeholders. They aren’t locks to make the team. The Yankees still have 38 healthy players remaining in big league camp with one week and six days to go. In other roster news, RHP Zach Greene indeed cleared waivers and returned to the Yankees as a Rule 5 Draft pick. How about this timing for the Mets?

Sunday: Greene placed on waivers.
Monday: Bryce Montes de Oca diagnosed with stress reaction in elbow.
Tuesday: Sam Coonrod suffers a severe lat strain.
Wednesday: Edwin Díaz blows out his knee at the World Baseball Classic*.

The Mets put Greene on waivers and started the process of returning him to the Yankees, then lost a reliever a day for three days. Had they waited just one more day to waive Greene, he’s probably still in camp. Why did they cut ties nearly three weeks before Opening Day? Beats me. Greene was sent directly to minor league camp once he rejoined the Yankees.

* Boy that Díaz injury is brutal, huh? What a weird, fluky injury. It wasn’t an excessive celebration with a dogpile or anything like that. Great players getting hurt sucks and Díaz is electrifying. That said, injuries come with the territory. No one shed a tear for the Yankees when Mark Teixeira blew out his wrist taking batting practice with Team USA in 2013.

As for RHP Wilking Rodriguez, the other player the Yankees lost in the Rule 5 Draft, he’s been fine this spring (6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K, 1 HR) and he is not a lock to make the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster. We’re in wait-and-see mode with him. Rodriguez threw the pitch that led to Harrison Bader’s oblique injury, by the way.

Upcoming games

Grapefruit League record check: 9-11-1 with a +3 run differential. Here’s what the Yankees have coming up between now and Tuesday’s post:

Friday at Tigers (1pm ET): Tigers broadcast and MLB Network in-market
Saturday at Blue Jays (1pm ET): Blue Jays broadcast and MLB Network in-market
Sunday vs. Orioles (1pm ET): no broadcast
Monday: off-day

Nestor Cortes (hamstring) will finally advance out of live batting practice and make his Grapefruit League debut Saturday. Looking forward to that. Also, Kiner-Falefa is tentatively scheduled to make his center field debut Friday, and at some point soon the high-leverage relievers will pitch on back-to-back days. Gotta check that box soon. One one full week left in camp.

Miscellany

Volpe is up to .333/.459/.667 in a Yankees-leading 37 plate appearances this spring. Here’s what he did Wednesday afternoon:

Struck out on a pitch outside the zone against Cy Young vote-getter Aaron Nola.
Went from 1-2 to a walk against Nola, then stole second on the first pitch.
Drew a five-pitch walk against fringe big leaguer Luis Ortiz.
Had a two-strike, two-out RBI single against All-Star Gregory Soto (video).
Made two great defensive plays at short (one, two).

Volpe has been the best player on the field every time he’s been in the lineup. I don’t know what more he needs to do to show he’s the best shortstop in the organization. It’s not the stats. It’s the quality of his at-bats, his composure, and his on-field awareness. There’s winning a job and then there’s lapping the field like Volpe has this spring … Elijah Dunham is back. My No. 18 prospect missed a few weeks with a shoulder issue, but he came off the bench Wednesday. It was his first game action since the second Grapefruit League game. Glad he’s healthy and will be able to start the Triple-A season on time … Clarke Schmidt went 15 up, 15 down with seven strikeouts and seven ground balls Thursday. Lordy. Schmidt has faced 42 batters this spring and 34 have either struck out or hit a ground ball, or 81%. Few things would make me happier this season than Schmidt capitalizing on this opportunity and cementing his place in the rotation … Aaron Judge played his third Grapefruit League game in left field Thursday and he still hasn’t had a playable ball hit his way. 15 innings and zero defensive chances. This sport can be so stupid sometimes … And finally, this is Day 15 of Kahnle’s 10-day shutdown period and it sounds like he hasn’t started throwing yet, so that’s going slower than expected. Carlos Rodón is expected to play catch in a few days though. That’s good news. Hopefully Rodón’s injury proves to be minor, and Kahnle can get back on the horse soon as well. I would like to post some good injury news at some point this year.

2. Rapid fire thoughts. Josh Norris has the details on MLB’s rule changes for the minors this season. There’s nothing too significant, it’s mostly this year’s big league rule changes being made uniform throughout the minors, though MLB will also test a sticky ball. From Norris:

ENHANCED GRIP BASEBALLS: The memo distributed to club personnel outlines that the league began working in 2021 with Dow Chemical in order to establish an alternative to the Delaware River mud currently applied to baseballs. These baseballs are manufactured by Rawlings and, according to the memo, are “identical to the baseballs that will be in use during the 2023 Major League season.”

These Enhanced Grip Baseballs will be in play in the Southern League from Opening Day through July 13. Games afterward will be played with traditionally mudded baseballs. Clubs in the Eastern and Texas Leagues will use standard Minor League baseballs.

If I’m reading this correctly, the Double-A Southern League will use Major League baseballs gooped up with the new sticky substance until July 13th. Other minor leagues will use regular old minor league balls. Japan and Korea use a sticky ball and MLB has been working on the prototype for a while, and now it’s game-ready. Hopefully it works well, not that I would expect the sticky ball to eliminate foreign substances. Players will always look for an edge … And finally, the Yankees are planning renovations and upgrades to George M. Steinbrenner Field and the Tampa complex, and Aaron Judge has been involved in the planning, Hal Steinbrenner told Bryan Hoch. The Blue Jays renovated their complex a few years ago and the Yankees want to incorporate some of those elements into their Spring Training and player development home. "The concern was we're kind of falling behind a lot of other teams that have newer facilities, like Toronto. I'm not one that ever wants to be secondary,” Hal told Hoch, presumably while holding in a laugh. I like that Judge has input though. The Yankees named him captain and it’s not just a title. He has a larger role in the organization now. Maybe Judge can convince Hal to spring for in-flight WiFi soon.

Mailbag Questions of the Week

Steve asks: Would you give Anthony Volpe an extension that is in the ballpark of what Corbin Carroll got? Maybe a shade less or with an additional option since he hasn't appeared in any MLB games? Or would you like to see him play at the MLB level before committing to him long term? I'm sure the Yankees are looking to get under the luxury tax threshold some time soon and upping his luxury tax hit from league minimum to 10-12M would stink right now, but if he's a 4-5 win player in 5 years, it would be an amazing bargain. I know people joke that the Yankees don't extend young players but they really haven't had many options. I know it's not their organizational philosophy but maybe that will change with so many young players coming up.

You hit on exactly why a Volpe extension won’t happen: luxury tax. If Volpe is on the Opening Day roster, he’ll make the league minimum or something close to it in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Extend him and his luxury tax hit would be the average annual value of the contract, which could be eight figures. Corbin Carroll’s eight-year, $111M deal has a $13.875M luxury tax hit, for example. His salary won’t exceed his luxury tax hit until 2028.

It’s clear Hal Steinbrenner won’t go all Steve Cohen and run a $350M+ payroll. There’s a limit somewhere, and Volpe at the minimum is a major bargain. It leaves lots of luxury tax room to add to the roster elsewhere. And down the line, the Yankees can afford to pay Volpe market rate through arbitration and free agency. That’s what they did with Aaron Judge. The Dodgers do this too. They haven’t extended a young player long-term since peak Clayton Kershaw.

That’s nice in theory, but the Yankees used Judge’s (and Gary Sánchez’s and Luis Severino’s) pre-arbitration years to reset their luxury tax rate. They didn’t use those minimum salaries to add more talent to a team that went to Game 7 of the ALCS in 2017. They used them to cut payroll in 2018. Not extending Volpe to save luxury tax payroll space so the Yankees can add more talent: acceptable. Not extending Volpe to lower payroll: bad, and we’ve seen the Yankees do this.

To answer the question, I think waiting a year to extend Volpe is perfectly reasonable, and that’s what I would do. He’s barely played in Triple-A and he didn’t exactly dominate that level. Let him play out this year, see how things go, then make a long-term decision. It might cost a little more money in the end, maybe even a lot more. It would lower the risk though. Volpe rules, but we don’t really know, you know?

Also, these early career extensions are starting to more closely align with arbitration and free agent salaries. The discount isn’t quite as big as it was back in the day. Consider:

Carroll will make $50M during what would have been his six years of team control. Mookie Betts made $59.5M during that chunk of his career. Judge was at $39.5M.
Keibert Ruiz’s new extension pays him $25M during what would have been his final five years of team control. J.T. Realmuto made $19.9M during the same chunk of his career.
Cristian Javier’s extension will pay him $21.2M during what would have been his three arbitration years. Julio Urías will make $25.9M during that chunk of his career.

Teams are now paying All-Star salaries through the player’s team control years, and in Carroll’s case, he’ll make $28M per free agent year with his new contract. Granted, salaries will climb between now and then, but I’m guessing $28M a year will still be a lot come 2029. These extensions are more about extra years, period, than discounted salaries now.

I think waiting a year for Volpe is fine. Carroll had more time (and success) in Triple-A and also made his MLB debut, and an extension is really the only way the Diamondbacks could keep him beyond his team control years. They had to be aggressive. The Yankees can afford to wait one more year. If Volpe does well in 2023, I would look to lock him up long-term (like 10+ years). I hope the Yankees are open to doing the same.

(The Diamondbacks are among the teams caught up in the Bally Sports bankruptcy and they still gave Carroll all that money. Ditto the Padres, who just extended Manny Machado. If teams are worried about RSN money drying up, they aren’t really showing it.)

Jonas asks: Seems like O. Cabrera is getting a lot of run at 3B so far in spring training. Do you think he is a potential backup plan if Donaldson looks done to start the year? This would allow DJ to continue to cycle thru positions as he typically does.

Oswaldo Cabrera has played more third base than any other position this spring. By a lot too. Here is his defensive workload:

2B: 2 games and 12 innings
SS: 1 game and 6 innings
3B: 6 games and 27 innings
LF: 1 game and 5 innings
RF: 2 games and 10 innings
CF: 1 game and 5 innings

I’m surprised Cabrera has not played more outfield. Maybe that’ll happen over the next week now that Harrison Bader will miss the start of the season. Otherwise yeah, a ton of time at third base and not so much elsewhere.

I think the defensive workload imbalance has more to do with the rest of the roster than Cabrera being groomed as a third base backup plan. The Yankees have three shortstop candidates who need time at the position and Gleyber Torres played more than usual early in camp because he was preparing for the World Baseball Classic. Middle infield innings were in short supply.

Torres left camp on Sunday, March 5th. He played in that afternoon’s Grapefruit League game, then traveled to Miami to join Team Venezuela that night. Cabrera has played six games since Torres left camp. His positions in those six games: CF, SS, 2B, 3B, 2B, CF. He came off the bench in the first center field game and started all the others.

All of Cabrera’s middle infield time has come since Torres left camp, lending credence to my theory that all the time at third base early in camp was the result of others needing work at second and short. With Gleyber gone and playing time opened up, the Yankees are moving guys around (including the shortstop candidates) and Cabrera has spent less time at third.

That all said, sure, Cabrera is definitely a backup plan at third base. So is DJ LeMahieu and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. The Yankees are covered at the hot corner in case Josh Donaldson is toast and a change must be made. I think Cabrera’s spending so much time at third is just a function of the rest of the roster though, not a sign the Yankees are preparing to make a change.

Adam asks: Do catcher pickoffs count towards the 2 pickoff limit rule? If not, will we see more catcher pickoff attempts? I love snap throws from the catcher. I feel like we've been seeing more of them lately, but maybe it's just because Trevino and Higgy have decent snap throws?

Catcher pickoffs do not count as a disengagement so yeah, I expect to see more of them going forward. Potentially a lot more. Pitchers no longer have unlimited pickoff throws, so the catcher will pick up some of the slack. Here is the 2022 catcher pickoff attempt leaderboard:

1. Cubs: 56
2. Orioles: 33
3. Rays: 30
4. Yankees: 28
5. Royals: 27
...
30. Braves: 5
(MLB average: 18.5)

Willson Contreras attempted 48 pickoffs by himself last year, way more than any other team, and Jose Trevino was second with 24 pickoff attempts. Trevino picked off four batters. Contreras only two. Does the higher success rate make Trevino a better thrower? Does it matter? Outs are nice, but even an unsuccessful pickoff attempt serves a purpose by keeping the runner close.

Trevino and Anthony Rizzo have a set pickoff play at first base. Kyle Higashioka doesn’t attempt pickoffs nearly as often (only four all year), so it’s a Trevino-Rizzo thing rather than a Yankees thing. With Gary Sánchez in 2021, the Yankees attempted 35 catcher pickoffs (32 by Sánchez). Higashioka isn’t a pickoff attempt guy, it seems.

I expect to see more catcher pickoff attempts moving forward to help compensate for the loss of unlimited pitcher pickoffs. Teams will do whatever they can to control the running game and the catcher is part of that. I don’t know if that means the MLB average goes from 18.5 catcher pickoff attempts to 20, or 18.5 to 150, but I think we’ll see them more often.

(Noah Woodward broke down catcher pickoffs earlier this week. He concluded they aren’t worth it because the errors are very costly, and you lose some called strikes. Trevino is far and away the best at marrying pickoff attempts with framing.)

Gregg asks: Based on Montas' surgery, if you were his agent would you feel it is better for his pending free agency to come back and pitch at the end of this season to show he is healthy or hold him out to reduce the risk of another setback or poor performance? Current timeline calls for him to make it back before the end of the season but he does not seem to be a gamer and cynically, I see the above question as the most important aspect he will consider.

If the doctors declare Frankie Montas healthy and able to pitch, he should pitch. Go out and show what you can do rather than be out of sight, out of mind for a year. Noah Syndergaard did this in 2021. He came back from Tommy John surgery and threw two mostly ineffective innings for the Mets late in the season (no breaking balls either), but he showed teams he’s healthy.

Keep in mind Montas is a competitor and wants to pitch, and a healthy player sitting out in his own self-interest comes with another set of issues. He’ll be looked at as a bad teammate. It’s one thing for a team to shut a player down for workload reasons (i.e. Stephen Strasburg in 2012). It’s another for the player to sit himself out, Operation Shutdown style.

Sitting out to avoid a setback will just lead to clubs being skeptical of your medicals, and Montas is very likely looking at a prove yourself one-year contract either way. If the doctors clear you and you can pitch, you should pitch, plus Montas and every other player in his situation will want to pitch. Sitting out leaves more questions than answers.

Sal asks: Let me preface this by saying this is a general baseball question NOT a Yankee question so I’m not jinxing our boys…. It seems like the term TINSTAAPP isn’t really heard much these days. Are young pitchers getting hurt less over the last few years? Would be nice if it were true.

TINSTAAPP stands for There Is No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect and it is an old school baseball internet term meant as a warning to not invest too heavily in young pitchers because the attrition rate is so high.

Sal sent in this question Thursday. That same day the Nationals announced RHP Cade Cavalli needs Tommy John surgery and the Tigers announced RHP Jackson Jobe has a back issue that might sideline him the entire season. Cavalli and Jobe are both recent first rounders and top 100 prospects, so good timing on the question Sal. (Kidding!)

Just using MLB.com’s top 100 prospects list as a guide, here are the top five pitching prospects in baseball. It’s not great health-wise:

6. Phillies RHP Andrew Painter: Hurt his elbow in his first spring start. He’s currently rehabbing the injury and trying to avoid Tommy John surgery.

7. Orioles RHP Grayson Rodriguez: Missed three months last year with a lat strain.

13. RHP Eury Pérez: Missed two months last year with a lat strain.

16. Guardians RHP Daniel Espino: Knee and shoulder trouble limited him to four starts last year, and he’s dealing with another shoulder issue this spring.

18. Giants LHP Kyle Harrison: Healthy!

Pitchers get hurt. It’s what they do. Tommy John surgery rates are higher than ever (roughly 33% of big leaguers have had it) but catastrophic shoulder injuries, the real career killers, are on the decline. Plenty of guys have Tommy John surgery but torn shoulder capsules and torn rotator cuffs are not as common thanks to better training an player development. Pitchers still get hurt plenty, especially young pitchers, but their injuries are more “survivable,” for lack of a better term.

Cory asks: Do you think the pitch clock is going to affect the broadcast much? The clock will also rush them right? Do you think some play by play callers will adapt better than others? Seems like storytellers who replicate the style of Vin Scully may sound different this year.

Chad Jennings (subs. req’d) spoke to a bunch of broadcasters about exactly this recently and they all said the quicker pace has been an adjustment. They have less time to tell stories and analyze a play or pitch. Similar to players, broadcasts will adjust to pitch clock, and some will adapt better than others. My usual routine was to write a bit between pitches and the pitch clock has disrupted that. This is not a complaint. I love the pitch clock. Just saying we’re all adjusting to it in different ways. Michael Kay is a very good play-by-play guy, listen to other broadcasts around the league and that becomes apparent quickly, though I find his broadcasts less enjoyable when he goes into radio show mode. Maybe the pitch clock will cut down on that. The best will adapt and still get their stories and analysis in. It may sound unnatural at first, but they’ll figure it out.

(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.)