February 28th, 2023: Shortstop, Domínguez, Schmidt, Thorpe, New Rules, García

The Yankees won’t have the opportunity to pass on Manny Machado again next offseason. Machado leveraged his opt out into what amounts to a new 11-year, $350M contract with the Padres over the weekend. It’s five years and $170M on top of the six years and $180M remaining on his original contract. Once again the Padres show everyone “small market” is just a mindset. All told, San Diego has invested 15 years and $470M in Machado. Bryce Harper at 13 years and $330M is such a steal, geez. Next offseason’s free agent class is shaping up to be Shohei Ohtani, Julio Urías, and a bunch of good but not great players. The case can be made Harrison Bader will be the best all-around position player on the market. It’s either him, Matt Chapman, or Ian Happ, and I think there’s a good chance the Cubs extend Happ. Anyway, let’s get to today’s post. Sorry it’s a little shorter than usual. I was under the weather all weekend and didn’t get any writing done.

1. Grapefruit League observations. Baseball is back and the Yankees have played four games in the last three days. They’re 3-1 and have outscored their opponents 28-17. World Series here they come. Here are some thoughts on the early Grapefruit League games now that CC Sabathia is in camp as a guest instructor.

The shortstop competition

Four Grapefruit League games and four different double play combinations. That’s not at all unusual this early in the spring (especially with a set of split squad games), but with the Yankees saying there’s an open competition at short, it’s worth keeping tabs on who plays with who. Here are the starting double play combinations the Yankees have used thus far:

• Saturday: Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Gleyber Torres
• Sunday: Oswald Peraza and Gleyber Torres (split squad home game)
• Sunday: Anthony Volpe and Jesús Bastidas (split squad road game)
• Monday: Isaiah Kiner-Falefa and Anthony Volpe
• Tuesday: Oswald Peraza and Gleyber Torres (based on the travel roster)

DJ LeMahieu will make his Grapefruit League debut Wednesday (ditto Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton), according to Greg Joyce. He’s not being held out because of his toe or anything. Just a veteran not playing in the first few spring games. Nothing to see here.

Anyway, Kiner-Falefa and Peraza have played with Torres, the big league second baseman, while Volpe was with Bastidas, his double play partner at Double-A Somerset last season. Also, Kiner-Falefa was at short when he was paired with Volpe. I’m sure Volpe will play short with Gleyber and LeMahieu at some point, but in the early days of Grapefruit League play, last year’s big league shortstops are at short and playing with last year’s big league second baseman.

Speaking of Volpe, he had a whale of a game Sunday, going 2-for-4 with a hustle double and a single. He stole second and third on back-to-back pitches after the single (video). Hard-throwing Nate Pearson gave up the double and Volpe was looking opposite field the entire way. It was a beautiful approach. Volpe hit everything solidly Sunday: 105.9 mph, 106.4 mph, 92.8 mph, 98.7 mph. (He also grounded into a double play in three straight at-bats spanning two games.)

“He put his tools on display,” Josh Donaldson, who was in the split squad lineup with Volpe, told Randy Miller. “He had some really nice at-bats. The first at-bat he smoked the ball, but got out. After that, it was impressive taking that slider hitting it the other way (for the double). He hit a first-pitch fastball (for the single). He ran the bases extremely well. He was showing off.”

I will plant my flag right now and say Volpe should be the Opening Day shortstop. He’s better than Kiner-Falefa and Peraza, even after factoring in the likely adjustment period. I wanted the Yankees to call Volpe up late last year and I stuck him at short in my Offseason Plan. I think he’s the best man for the job. That’s easy for me to say sitting behind a keyboard, but man, the kid is so impressive. Do it, Yankees. Join the #VolpeningDay movement.

“Watching him drive the ball the other way with ease, he’s impressive. He has a nice inside-out swing impacting the baseball with a forward pass. That really stands out so far,” bench coach Carlos Mendoza told Miller. “... The makeup, everybody talks about it. Just watching him go about his business on a daily basis, first time in big league camp with a lot of superstars around and just the way he goes about it, he’s a total pro. He gets in early, he gets his work in, and then he gets out of the way and just watches some of the older guys. When you see him out on the field, you can see the abilities just the way he moves around the infield, how fundamentally sound he is, which is impressive. The attention to detail from his work really stands out to me.”

It is far, far too early to declare a front runner in the shortstop competition (I still think the job is Peraza’s), though Torres leaves for the World Baseball Classic this Sunday, which will open up at-bats and innings at second base. That’ll give us more data. Does one shortstop candidate get more time at short while the others see increased time at second? So far though, things are as expected in the early exhibition games.

Domínguez’s dinger

When I previewed this year’s non-roster invitees, I said Jasson Domínguez’s spring will go one of two ways. Either he’ll tear it up and make everyone want him in left field on Opening Day, or he’ll go something like 0-for-13 with nine strikeouts and all we hear is he’s overrated because he had a disappointing spring. Feels like there’s no middle ground.

One weekend into the Grapefruit League season, Domínguez is going with the former, the “you’ll want me in left field” path. Domínguez walloped a homer against fringe big leaguer Ben Bowden in his second at-bat of the spring Saturday (video). He hit it from the right side of the plate, his weaker side, and the 109.7 mph exit velocity matched his max exit velocity as a righty last year.

“I was just looking for a good pitch to hit and put a good swing on the ball,” Domínguez told Bryan Hoch after the game. “(Big league camp has) been a learning experience and a lot of fun. I have been learning and having fun at the same time with all the guys around me. It’s been great.”

I promise I won’t beat you over the head with Spring Training exit velocity but I do want to note only seven big leaguers age 20 or younger have hit a ball as hard as Domínguez hit that homer since Statcast launched in 2015: Ronald Acuña, Carlos Correa, Rafael Devers, Luis García, Vlad Guerrero Jr., Juan Soto, and Fernando Tatis Jr. Six of the best hitters in baseball and also Nationals shortstop Luis García. Not many players this young can hit the ball this hard.

The home run came on the first pitch. Domínguez grounded out in a 3-0 count and popped up in a 3-1 count in his other two at-bats. Good counts, good swings, bad results there. He singled and walked Monday night. Not much more to say right now. Domínguez went deep in his first ever Grapefruit League game and that’s fun. See you in the Bronx on March 30th, Jasson.

“Honestly, that’s not a thought that has crossed my mind,” Domínguez told Hoch when asked whether he’s thought about playing in the big leagues this year. “I’m the type of person that likes to focus on the task at hand and in front of me, especially the day-to-day. Things like that, I don’t have any control about that. To me, it’s just a laser-focused mentality on the task in front of me.”

Clarke’s cutter

Spring Training is the time for new pitches and Clarke Schmidt is working on a cutter. He hasn’t had a reliable weapon for lefties and it shows in his career splits:

• vs. RHB: .203/.295/.281 (.265 wOBA) with 23.3 K% and 9.7 BB% (131 BF)
• vs. LHB: .297/.392/.477 (.371 wOBA) with 21.4 K% and 12.2 BB% (176 BF)

“I think the cutter is going to be a big pitch for me this year,” Schmidt said during an in-game interview with YES on Sunday (video). “It makes me – when I’m out there – I feel if I get behind in the count, especially to lefties, I feel a lot more comfortable that I don’t have to dot a pitch here and there. I can throw this over the heart of the plate and get some swing and miss.”

Schmidt retired all six batters he faced Sunday (video), five via strikeout, and he threw 11 cutters among his 31 pitches. He threw five cutters in one at-bat against the lefty swinging Sam Hillard. The pitch results are whatever (five balls, three called strikes, two swings and misses, one foul). The important thing is Schmidt does indeed have a new cutter. It’s not some Spring Training myth. It’s real and he’s throwing it.

“It’s like getting a new car, you’re itching and itching to use it,” Schmidt told Hoch about the cutter. “For me, I was really excited to go out there and throw it. I think it’s going to be a big pitch for me. I’ve noticed a lot of hitters are swinging under it because they’re expecting some sink, and it stays up with the cut. It’s been such a high strike percentage pitch for me early on. It was almost like I started throwing it and I felt like it’s been my best pitch for years.”

Like everything else Schmidt throws, the cutter had big spin (averaged 2,652 rpm Sunday), and it had slightly less velocity than his sinker and slightly less horizontal break than his slider, though there was overlap with the slider movement. Lucas Apostoleris saved me the work of putting together a pitch velocity vs. horizontal movement graph, so here it is:

The cutter is almost like a ‘tweener pitch. It’s not in the graph, but the cutter had about six fewer inches of drop than the slider, so there is distinctly different movement despite the similar horizontal break. The cutter fits nicely between Schmidt’s slider and sinker. It’s another velocity range and another movement range for hitters to cover.

“I thought it played really well,” Jose Trevino, who caught Schmidt on Sunday (and hit a grand slam), told Hoch. “It’s a different pitch shape for him, a different look to the hitters. Lefties, it’s going to crowd them up and in, and righties, it’s going to go away from them. I think he looks really comfortable with it. He seems to have a good idea of where it’s going, too.”

Gerrit Cole added a cutter last Spring Training and the pitch was gone by July, so let’s pump the brakes a little on Schmidt’s cutter. It’s one thing to use it against the Braves’ B-team on Feb. 26th and another to use it at Rogers Centre in August, or with Devers at the plate and runners on the corners. For the first look, Schmidt’s cutter was good. Hopefully he sticks with it and it fixes his problem against lefties, and gets him to another level.

“I want to come out here and I want to fight for a rotation spot and whatever happens, happens,” Schmidt said about competing for the No. 5 spot during his in-game interview (video). “If they want me back in that swingman bullpen role again, then that’s the case. But for me, I’m coming out here and trying to compete and hopefully win a job.”

Thorpe’s new cutter (?) and a check on his velocity

Sunday was a good day for prospect watching. The Yankees called up a bunch of players from minor league camp for the split squad games, including Clayton Beeter, Spencer Jones, Trey Sweeney, and Will Warren. They all ranked among my top 30 prospects. Sweeney ripped a double too (video). That kid definitely has a Yankee Stadium swing, huh?

The Yankees also brought up right-hander Drew Thorpe, last year’s second round pick and my No. 8 prospect, and sent him on the road trip Sunday. He threw two innings against a bunch of Blue Jays minors leaguers in the late innings (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K). More important than the box score is the Statcast data. Here are Thorpe’s average numbers in Sunday’s outing:

• Fastball: 92.8 mph and 2,253 rpm
• Changeup: 83.7 mph and 2,135 rpm
• Slider: 82.1 mph and 2.495 rpm
• Cutter: 90.8 mph and 2,175 rpm

The cutter is new. I thought maybe the cutters were misclassified four-seamers, but no, the two pitches have slightly different shapes. It looks like a distinct fourth pitch (caveat: Thorpe threw only three cutters Sunday, so who knows) and a cutter would track because the Yankees have helped a few guys add one recently (Warren last year, Schmidt’s working on it this spring, etc.). It appears they’re trying to give Thorpe a cutter too. That would be a nifty addition to the arsenal.

Beyond the cutter, the velocity is noteworthy, because Thorpe is not a hard-thrower. His fastball reportedly sat 90-91 mph with some 93s last spring at Cal Poly. He did not pitch after the draft because the Yankees sent him to Tampa for pitch design work, which is what they do with just about all their drafted pitchers, so Thorpe was 90-93-ish the last time anyone saw him.

On Sunday, Thorpe’s heater ranged from 92.0 mph to 93.4 mph, which is a tick above where he was said to be last spring (the spin was only average though). That’s not a “oh yeah, this guy throws 97 mph now” spike like we’ve seen with a few other guys, but it’s not 90-91 mph either. It’s only February too. Velocity typically peaks in the middle of the summer, so it’s not unreasonable to think Thorpe will add a few more ticks to his fastball as he gets built up in the coming weeks.

It’s possible, maybe even likely, the velocity boost stems from the adrenaline of pitching in the big league spring game. That would be understandable. We’ll just have to keep track of Thorpe’s velocity as the season progresses, which won’t be easy if the Yankees send him to High-A Hudson Valley (no Statcast) rather than Low-A Tampa. I have no doubt the Yankees drafted Thorpe with a plan to boost his velocity. The super early Spring Training returns are promising.

(The flip side: Thorpe gave up the four hardest hit balls in Sunday’s game: 108.9 mph, 109.7 mph, 109.8 mph, and 112.6 mph. That’s some loud contact.)

Upcoming pitching plans

For the first time this spring, the Yankees will not be televised Tuesday. Blame the Rays. The Yankees will be on the road to take on their AL East rivals and the home team isn’t showing the game. Bummer. Here are the games between now and Friday’s post (all 1pm ET starts):

• Tuesday at Rays: no broadcast
• Wednesday vs. Nationals: YES Network
• Thursday at Pirates: Pirates broadcast

The Yankees won’t let the Rays see any of their big league pitchers Tuesday. Sean Boyle, Matt Krook, and a bunch of non-roster guys are on the travel roster, per Hoch. Domingo Germán threw live batting practice Friday, putting him on track to start Wednesday. Ryan Weber and more kids (Yoendrys Gómez?) could then make the 50-ish minute road trip Thursday.

Gerrit Cole (Sunday) and Carlos Rodón (Monday) threw live batting practice recently and will make their Grapefruit League debuts “towards the back end” of the week, Aaron Boone told Marly Rivera. The Yankees have home games Friday (no broadcast) and Saturday (YES), and I bet those are the dates. Cole’s and Rodón’s five-day schedules line up perfectly, and the veterans won’t have to get on a bus.

Nestor Cortes (hamstring) threw live batting practice Monday and MLB.com’s latest injury update makes it sound like he’ll do that one more time before appearing in a game, though I could be reading it wrong. Seems like the Yankees will be into their regular starting pitchers by early next week. The next few days will feature more patchwork pitching.

The new rules

Where has the pitch clock been all my life? It’s only been one weekend but I love it. The game moves smoothly and there’s much less standing around between pitches. That’s what bothered me, not four-hour games (not that those are great either). It’s waiting 30 seconds between pitches because the batter for some reason has to adjust his batting gloves after taking a pitch.

"I think this is going to be a good thing for everybody,” Aaron Judge told Hoch. "When they brought the shot clock into basketball all those years ago, they had to learn to adjust. You couldn't just sit around and dribble and run motion for five minutes."

Some Spring Training ballparks have the big on-field clock in full view of the traditional center field broadcast camera, but that won’t be the case during the regular season. Jeff Passan says the clock will be out of view in big league stadiums. The YES Network put the clock in the scorebug once it got down to 7-8 seconds:

That’s perfect. The clock isn’t permanently displayed (it shares that real estate with the pitch count) and my eyes aren’t drawn to it, but the information is there if I want it. There’s no need to turn this into the play clock like in football, where networks sometimes put a graphic on the field itself, or have the clock flash red as it gets close to expiring. Less is more in this case.

Manny Machado was hit with the first ever pitch clock violation because he wasn’t in the box and alert to the pitcher at the eight-second mark. There was a walk-off automatic strike this weekend because Braves prospect Cal Conley wasn’t alert to the pitcher at the eight-second mark in a 3-2 count with the bases loaded and two outs in a tie game. Here it is:

Conley knocks the dirt out of his cleat, taps his bat on the plate a few times, stretches out his arm, on and on. Just get in the box and hit, man. I understand players have routines, and I’m sorry for sounding like a cranky old man, but this is all fat that can be trimmed. There’s zero value added there. Respect my time and get on with it, or get called for a strike.

(The rule is the batter must be in the box and alert to the pitcher at the eight-second mark and the pitcher must start his delivery (not throw the pitch) before the timer runs out. The catcher must be in the catcher’s box at the nine-second mark, though he doesn’t have to be in his squat. Standing is fine. Maybe that needs to be corrected.)

What happened to Conley is good! Let everyone learn the rules in February, the hard way if necessary, so they can adjust and make sure it doesn’t happen in games that count. Jayson Stark says there were 69 violations in 35 games through Sunday, or 1.97 per game. That was the case in Triple-A last year, and a month into the season, the players cut it down to one violation every other game.

Hitters seem to be having a harder time than pitchers, though Stark notes only eight of the 35 violations Sunday were hitters. The relative lack of violations does not mean hitters are comfortable though. They’re cutting it much closer than pitchers, who for the most part are ready to go with a few seconds to spare. Hitters are getting set in the box and facing the pitcher right at that eight-second mark.

“I felt very rushed, but that’s okay,” Mariners first baseman Ty France told Corey Brock (subs. req’d) after Seattle’s first Cactus League game. “Hopefully in a week to two weeks, it will be fine. Talking with some of the minor leaguers, they said it took about one month. Hopefully by the end of the spring, everyone will be good to go.”

The Yankees have played four Grapefruit League games thus far: 2:34, 2:16, 3:05, and 2:23. Through Sunday, the league-wide average time of game was 2:39. It was 3:01 last spring. The 22-minute improvement is consistent with the 21-minute improvement they saw in Triple-A last year. Spring Training time of game data goes back to 2006. It was 2:40 that year, the lowest on record. The pitch clock has reversed 17 years of the game slowing down.

And to be clear, my problem isn’t the time of game. I mean, I’ll happily take those extra 21 minutes and use them to do literally anything else, but I believe the game’s pace had became a real problem. The time between pitches occasionally felt interminable and it took away from my enjoyment. The pitch clock has cut down on the dead time and the game flows much better. I love the pitch clock. I knew I’d love it and I love it more than I thought I would. A+ change to the sport.

As for the ban on extreme shifts, it’s way too early to know how they will impact the game. I will note this is how the Braves aligned their defense against Aaron Hicks with runners on first and second Saturday afternoon. Hicks saw the shift in 92.6% of his plate appearances as a lefty batter last year, the tenth highest rate in baseball.

The shortstop is almost directly behind the second base bag, which is about as close to the bag as he can get in a legal alignment now. The second baseman is in the second baseman’s traditional spot rather than shaded closer to first base. Here’s where defenders positioned themselves against Hicks (hitting lefty) with runners on base last year, for comparison:

Last year Hicks typically saw three defenders on the right side of the infield, occasionally with one in shallow right field. Can’t do that now. The second baseman must have both feet on the infield dirt and the shortstop has to be on the shortstop’s side of second base. Te new rules open up some holes and will lead to a few more hits. How many? I don’t know, but I’m looking forward to finding out.

“I felt like (I was) in jail,” Torres told Greg Joyce about positioning himself defensively with the new anti-shift rules. “I didn’t want to move too much and I had an umpire close to me. I didn’t want to go too far. Inning by inning, it felt better and better.”

(As far as I know there has been just one violation of the anti-shift rules so far. Rays second baseman Vidal Bruján got dinged for being across the bag Saturday, per Marc Topkin. The penalty for an illegal defensive alignment is an automatic ball.)

Stolen base attempts are up this spring as well. J.J. Cooper did the digging and found there were 1.08 stolen base attempts per game with a 78% success rate through Sunday. That’s the most stolen base attempts per game in Spring Training since 2011, and last spring through numbers were 0.77 and 73%. Stolen bases were expected to increase with larger bases and a limit on disengagements (they increased in the minors), and they have in the early going this spring. That’s a good thing, I think. Stolen bases add excitement.

It’s only been a few days and we’ll see how things develop as players get more comfortable with the new rules and learn how to push the envelope (a lot of veteran pitchers haven’t appeared in a game yet this spring), but so far, things are going as well as I could’ve hoped. The pitch clock moves the game along nicely and stolen base attempts are up. The anti-shift rules? Eh, I dunno what to think yet, but I can’t say I’ve found myself missing the shift these last few days.

Team bonding and clubhouse culture

The Yankees had a short workout Friday, the day before their first Grapefruit League game, and they spent the afternoon at a local miniature golf course for their annual team-bonding exercise. They paired veterans with rookies, and Nestor Cortes won the tournament. The Yankees tweeted out some photos, if you’re interested. A good time was had by all.

“Honestly, I didn’t know how good I shot till the end when they called me out,” Cortes told Mark Sanchez. “It was definitely good for us. There was obviously some competition involved. A little trash talk here, a little trash talk there.”

Normally I would only briefly mention the annual team-bonding event, but I wanted to talk more about it this year because one day earlier Chris Cotillo reported several Red Sox veterans gave rookie Triston Casas a hard time about his pregame routine last year. Specifically, Casas likes to lay in the outfield grass and sunbathe before games. Okay, a bit weird, but completely harmless.

Anyway, Red Sox veterans voiced their displeasure and Casas had to change his routine. Why they had to do that, I will never understand, but this is the kinda thing you never hear about with the Yankees. They do the opposite. They go to great lengths to make sure their young players are comfortable, because when they’re comfortable, they’ll play better, and it’s good for the team.

“I think it’s good for some of the younger guys to be around some of our veteran players in a relaxed setting,” Boone told Hoch about Friday’s mini golf outing. “I feel like our veteran guys do a really good job of incorporating them and making them feel at home anyway, but this is one of those things in a non-work environment where you can let your hair down a little bit and have some fun.”

CC Sabathia pushed this mentality years ago. He’s said several times on his podcast that Cleveland’s veterans were so hard on him when he first got called up that he hated baseball, and he wanted to make sure no young teammate ever felt the same way. Sabathia took care of all the kids when he was a Yankee, and it continues today with Judge and Rizzo leading the way.

“Culture was an issue in that clubhouse,” Brian Cashman told Hoch and Mark Feinsand about signing Sabathia. “We were broken, and it needed to be addressed.”

It’s not just the Yankees either. Buck Showalter takes the same approach with the Mets – “The guy's got your uni on and he's trying to help you. Why don't you make his path a little easier?" Showalter said about rookies recently (video) – as does Dusty Baker with the Astros, Dave Roberts with the Dodgers, and others. It’s one thing to make a rookie sit at the front of the plane or hit in the last batting practice group. It’s another to disrupt their routines and make them feel like they have to walk on eggshells. That’s outdated (at least outside Boston, apparently).

Clubhouse culture is important. It’s not a substitute for talent, but it is important. We’ve all had good jobs and bad jobs, and when you like your coworkers and your workplace, you tend to be a more productive worker. The same applies to baseball. The Yankees have prioritized a positive culture, particularly making young players feel like they belong. How much does it help in the standings? I don’t know, but I refuse to believe a good clubhouse doesn’t have a positive impact.

"I want to create the best environment to get the best out of our employees whether it’s a coach, a player, a staff member, or in the front office. I believe we are all products of our environment, and clubhouse culture is a huge part of all winning teams,” Rangers GM Chris Young told Bob Nightengale recently “... I feel like clubhouse culture is huge. It’s not talked about enough because it’s not perfectly quantifiable, and makes it hard to really identify. I’m not sure I can fully articulate what all goes into that, but you know it when you see it, both good and bad."

Miscellany

Luis Severino used the new pitcher version of PitchCom during his start Monday night. Here’s the PitchCom unit on his belt (I thought it was going to be on a wristband, but whatever):

Severino called every single pitch and he was paired with non-roster catcher Rodolfo Durán, so it makes sense the veteran starter called his own game. “I love it. I think it’s the greatest thing of all-time. It’s more fast. You can throw a pitch and you’ll be walking to grab the ball and you already called another pitch,” Severino told Chris Kirschner. He’s the first Yankees pitcher I’ve seen with the pitcher PitchCom unit, though I could’ve easily missed someone else with it. I’m sure we’ll see more pitchers use PitchCom in the future … Austin Wells, my No. 6 prospect, has had a setback in his recovery from a bone bruise in his rib cage. He started working out last week, then had to be shut down after the soreness returned. “He’s just not there yet,” Boone told Brendan Kuty (subs. req’d). Opening Day is still a month away, but Wells is definitely behind the 8-ball now. Might be another few weeks until we see him in a Grapefruit League game … Randy Vásquez, my No. 10 prospect, got hit hard Saturday (1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K), and he got only three misses on 22 swings and 43 total pitches. The Phillies took a lot of comfortable swings against him (Alex Mauricio, who bailed Vásquez out of two innings, had four whiffs on five swings and 14 pitches). Vásquez has pretty nasty stuff, but since getting to Double-A in Aug. 2021, he’s posted a 23.4% strikeout rate and an 11.4% swinging strike rate. The Double-A Eastern League average was 25.3% strikeouts and 12.9% swinging strikes in 2022. For whatever reason Vásquez hasn’t missed as many bats as you’d expect given his stuff. It happened again in his Grapefruit League debut … And finally, non-roster lefty D.J. Snelten had a rough outing Saturday (0.2 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP), but he also hit 99 mph (98.9 mph, to be exact). He threw 13 fastballs, none below 95.1 mph. During his 4.1-inning big league stint in 2018 (his only MLB time), Snelten’s heater averaged 89.8 mph, and he did not throw a pitch over 93.8. Hmmm. Snelten did not pitch at all from 2020-22, so maybe this is just a matter of a guy getting healthy? That’s a huge velocity spike though. Snelten had little idea where the ball was going Saturday, but still, a lefty throwing that hard is worth keeping an eye on.

2. García has an option remaining. Deivi García does indeed have a fourth minor league option, reports Mark Sanchez. Technically, he still has his third option, which he hasn't used yet. It's not a fourth option. García did not spend enough days on an active minor league roster to burn an option last year. From Sanchez:

Garcia has one more season with a minor league option remaining, which is contrary to public information. Last year, when a struggling Garcia was shut down for two months as the Yankees cited a finger injury and an all-around reset, Garcia did not log the requisite time on a roster to use up an option.

To exhaust their minor league options, players must spend at least 90 days on a roster — major or minor league — for five seasons. Garcia was not on a minor league roster for 90 days in 2022.

García was on the minor league injured list from May 31st to July 28th last year, though the injury was not that serious. He was pitching on the Tampa backfields on June 21st, if not earlier. The Yankees used the injured list stint as an opportunity to help García reset after he allowed 27 runs and 53 baserunners in 21.2 innings with Triple-A Scranton to open the season.

I’m gonna go ahead and assume the Yankees manipulated the injured list stint in such a way that Deivi would not spend the requisite 90 days on the active roster, and thus not burn an option. The Yankees can send him to the minors without passing him through waivers this season, though I think this version of García would clear waivers anyway. Doesn’t matter now.

Given how poorly he’s pitched the last two seasons (6.87 ERA and 6.32 FIP in 154.2 minor league innings), it’s impossible to consider García rotation depth – or any kinda depth – at this point. If he’s able to fix things and make himself a call up candidate at some point, great. But until he does that, Deivi is a reclamation project and not to be counted on. At least the Yankees won’t have to risk waivers this year.

3. Rapid fire thoughts. Dodgers shortstop Gavin Lux suffered a gnarly knee injury running the bases Monday (video). The Dodgers will know more in the coming days. Non-contact knee injuries are never good, and if it’s serious, Los Angeles could be a potential trade partner for Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Their shortstop depth chart behind Lux is 34-year-old Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor, who’s expected to play the outfield a bunch. Hopefully Lux is okay. I don’t want a good young player to get hurt. If it is serious though, the Yankees and Dodgers could match up for a trade … An update on the decline of regional sports networks: Warner Bros. Discovery, which operates several AT&T SportsNet and Root Sports channels, wants out of the RSN business, according to John Ourand. WBD has informed teams they have until March 31st to reach a deal to take their television rights back so they can sell them to someone else. If no deal is reached, those RSNs will file Chapter 7 bankruptcy and liquidate. This affects four MLB teams (Astros, Mariners, Pirates, Rockies) plus several NBA and NHL teams. Between this and Diamond Sports going bankrupt, we’re up to 18 MLB teams that don’t know where their games will be broadcast this season and what kinda local television revenue they'll have coming their way (the Yankees are not one of the 18 and will still be on the YES Network). The RSN dilemma is paving the way for a blackout-free service and, as a fan, that rocks. The league and at this point most teams will likely have to deal with some short-term financial pain though, and that financial pain will be passed on to everyone else (things will get more expensive for fans, players won’t get paid as much, etc.). Eventually they’ll work it out and get back to making money hand over fist. In the meantime, MLB and the owners will act like the sport is dying and a salary cap is the only thing that can save it, because that’s what they always do (allow me to note the Padres are one of the 18 teams in RSN limbo, yet they just extended Manny Machado at big dollars, so take the league’s revenue concerns with a grain of salt) … And finally, MLBPA chief Tony Clark gave an update on the first ever minor league Collective Bargaining Agreement over the weekend. He said the two sides are still working through several issues, but they’re making progress, and Clark does not expect a work stoppage if there is no deal by Opening Day. “The greater likelihood is that the terms and conditions that currently exist will likely continue as we continue to negotiate,” Clark told Evan Drellich (subs. req’d). That’s good. I mean, hopefully there’s a CBA in place soon, but at least there won’t be a strike or lockout, and non-40-man roster players can play when the regular season begins.

(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.)