February 25th, 2022: Volpe, Wells, Beck, O’Neill, Mailbag

Lockout, Day 86: I could be (probably am) completely wrong, but it feels like the owners painted themselves into a corner and don’t know how to get out. Everything about these last few weeks feels like MLB expected the MLBPA to cave quickly, and when it didn’t happen, the owners didn’t have a Plan B. Maybe they got bad advice. This week has been more of the same, meaning little progress on most issues and zero progress on big issues (like the luxury tax). Nothing on the table is worth a lockout and missing games, but this is the path MLB has chosen. It’s dumb. Well, whatever. Let’s get to today’s post.

1. Spring Training notes (?!?). The lockout rages on but minor league camp is underway. Props to the Yankees for making minor league players and personnel available to the media this week (I know no one cares about media access, but it’s nice to hear from someone during camp, and other teams are hiding everyone away) and giving us something to talk about.

The open of minor league camp gives us actual baseball news to discuss this week, and thank goodness for that. This lockout is for the birds. Here’s some news and notes from Tampa.

Volpe working on arm strength

After last season’s offensive breakout, No. 1 prospect SS Anthony Volpe doesn’t have a glaring weakness in his game. The biggest on-field question is his throwing arm, which is average more than great. It’s good enough for shortstop now, though any slippage might relegate him to second base. You know a prospect’s good when the only real concern is he may have to move from one up-the-middle position to another.

To that end, Volpe worked out at Wake Forest’s pitching lab this offseason in an effort to improve his throwing arm. Specifically, he introduced “plyometric exercise to his regimen in hopes of boosting arm strength,” according to Bryan Hoch. Volpe added he feels his throws are coming out more effortlessly in the early days of camp.

“I don’t want there to be any areas looking back, saying I should have worked on (that),” Volpe told Pete Caldera.

We’ll see how Volpe’s arm plays when games begin – the early days of camp are littered with “I worked on this over the winter and now it feels great!” stories that don’t amount to much – but this is another example of the kid being a tireless worker. If Volpe flops, it won’t be due to a lack of effort. Last year it was a swing change. Now he’s working on his arm.

Wells could see time at other positions

According to Brendan Kuty, director of player development Kevin Reese acknowledged C Austin Wells, my No. 8 prospect, could see time at other positions this year. Reese made sure to give the token “we consider him a catcher” comment, adding Wells has made great strides with his defense. What else is the director of player development supposed to say?

“Depending on where some of our other guys are, there might be an opportunity to get him some reps (at other positions),” Reese said about Wells. “He might be competing with Josh Breaux in Double-A or something like that where we have a couple of different prospects at the same place. Then we might have to get a little bit creative to keep his bat in the lineup. But none of that is a concern about his catching.”

Wells praised the player development staff for helping him improve his receiving – “That’s the biggest jump. It was night and day from when I got here until now,” he said – and apparently his arm has improved too. He suffered an elbow injury in high school and was a poor thrower in college and last year. Maybe the Yankees fixed that. Would be cool.

Whenever a team talks up a prospect and says he’s improved a weakness, you have to take it with a grain of salt, especially this time of year. I think Reese acknowledging Wells could see time at other positions tells us they don’t 100% believe in him as a catcher – if you think Wells can catch, you don’t let a guy like Breaux stand in his way – and want to keep their options open.

Ultimately, the bat is way ahead of the glove, and the Yankees shouldn’t hold Wells back just so he can work his defense. Let the bat dictate his progress. It’s tricky, because if you believe he can catch, that’s worth pursuing. I’d been cool with giving Wells an outfielder’s glove this spring and seeing what’s what. Better to do it properly in Spring Training than dumping it on him in the middle of the season.

Beck had Tommy John surgery

We have our first injury revelation of the season: RHP Brendan Beck, my No. 22 prospect, had Tommy John surgery late last summer, reports Kiley McDaniel. Had I known about the injury, I would have ranked Beck a little lower in the top 30, likely between RHP Albert Abreu (No. 26) and OF Elijah Dunham (No. 27). I would’ve bumped him under healthy pitchers, basically.

McDaniel says Beck’s rehab is going well, though the timing of the injury suggests he will miss the entire 2022 season. That’s a bummer. Beck was drafted as a fourth year junior (the NCAA gave everyone an extra year of eligibility after 2020) and he will turn 24 in October. Ultimately, no one cares how old you are as long as you can get outs, but damn, Beck is looking at an MLB debut at age 25 at the earliest, more likely age 26 or 27.

Beck is a build-a-pitcher prospect with a good foundation the Yankees hope to improve, and that development can take time. He was mostly low-90s last spring and it’s not uncommon for guys to come back from Tommy John surgery throwing harder. Not because the new elbow ligament gives them superpowers or anything. It’s because the rehab work is more intense than their usual training. Beck returning with added velocity would make the best of a bad situation.

Minor league pitchers on eight-week ramp up

The Yankees are building their minor league pitchers up slowly across eight weeks rather than the usual six this spring, director of pitching Sam Briend told Kuty. The extra two weeks are intended to prepare minor leaguers to potentially soak up more innings in big league camp, which will be truncated, as the 40-man roster guys build themselves up.

“You never know what causes an injury, right?” Briend said. “But from a lot of the research and from the things we’ve seen in the past, the riskiest time of the year is always Spring Training and the first month of the season. It’s something like more than 30% of surgery-inducing injuries happen in that window. I’d say it’s actually pretty scary, right? It’s nice to have at least four weeks and hopefully there’s some roster flexibility with that to make sure that we’re not putting these players at risk. The nice side is that we’ve got the minor leaguers here and they’re able to get going. Their workloads are built up as normal.”

Long story short, the Yankees don’t want anyone doing too much too soon, so they’re bringing their minor leaguers along slowly now so they can bring their big leaguers along slowly later. If, say, Gerrit Cole only goes two innings in his first Grapefruit League start, you want the minor leaguers ready to eat up those remaining innings without overextending anyone, so the Yankees are preparing them for that.

Yankees working out at USF

Just a quick note on the locked out big leaguers and their current whereabouts. Aaron Judge, DJ LeMahieu, and Luke Voit are among a small contingent of players working out at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Here’s some video. LeMahieu going through workouts is notable given his hernia surgery. Looks like he’s moving pretty well in the video too. Good news, that is.

Luis Severino, Gleyber Torres, and Gio Urshela are working out at a nearby high school (their workout partners include Tim Anderson and Rafael Devers). I wouldn’t read anything into who’s working out where and with who. Everyone is likely working out with their bestest buddies and wherever’s closest to home. Nothing more, nothing less.

“We’ve been working out here (all offseason),” Urshela told Kristie Ackert about his high school field workouts. “We’ll just keep doing it. We want to play, we’re ready to go. We can’t just be sitting on the couch. We have to keep ourselves ready.”

2. No. 21 being retired. The Yankees found a way to get Paul O’Neill out of the basement. Earlier this week the Yankees announced O’Neill’s No. 21 will be retired Sunday, Aug. 21st. Weird timing. They gave O’Neill a plaque in Monument Park eight years ago. Why they waited until now to retire his number, I do not know, but they are finally retiring it.

“Just a day I won’t ever forget,” O’Neill told Zach Braziller about having his number retired. “It’s the highest honor that I’ve ever been given in baseball. I don’t really know how to explain it. It’s on my mind all day, and it keeps replaying over and over again, just how cool this is. To know that there’s a generation of people who associate my name with that number to me is very special.”

Other than LaTroy Hawkins for a few weeks in 2008, no Yankee has worn No. 21 since O’Neill retired following the 2001 season. It sat in limbo for more than two decades and it was getting to be rather silly. I’ve written this a few times over the years, but it was time to either retire No. 21 or put it back in circulation, and the Yankees opted to retire it. Works for me.

With No. 21 retired, and with all due respect to Tino Martinez, I think David Cone is the only remaining dynasty era Yankee who deserves serious number retirement consideration, and it seems that ship has sailed. 20 different players have worn No. 36 since Cone, including Mike Ford and Jonathan Davis last season. (Freddy Garcia, Tom Gordon, and Carlos Beltran are far and away the most notable Yankees to wear No. 36 since Cone.)

No. 13 and No. 52 are the next two numbers the Yankees could retire. No. 52 hasn’t been issued since CC Sabathia retired, though that was just two years ago*. I’d be pretty liberal with retired numbers if I ran a team and I’d retire No. 52. Sabathia was the ace of the Yankees’ most recent championship team and he is among the franchise leaders in wins (tenth), starts (seventh), strikeouts (fourth), and a bunch of other stuff. Do it.

* Once upon a time the Yankees gave No. 46 to random Yankee Donovan Osborne right after Andy Pettitte signed with the Astros. I thought it was spiteful.

As for No. 13, it wasn’t reissued until Joey Gallo, who wore No. 13 with the Rangers, came over at the trade deadline last summer. It was not issued between Alex Rodriguez’s forced retirement in Aug. 2016 and Gallo. A-Rod’s legacy is complicated but his on-field accomplishments are worthy of number retirement (and a plaque too). He’s one of the greatest Yankees ever.

A-Rod hasn’t been back to Yankee Stadium as anything other than a broadcaster since getting released. Has he turned down invitations to Old Timers’ Day? Have the Yankees not invited him? I don’t know. The Yankees can’t be keeping A-Rod away because it’s a steroids thing, right? Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte have been to Old Timers’ Day a bunch of times.

Roger Clemens hasn’t been to an Old Timers’ Day since his retirement, so maybe the Yankees are blackballing players they don’t like. Thanks for helping us win the World Series and making us a bunch of money, but you’re not allowed in the cool kids club. We’ll still show your highlights and put pictures of you around Yankee Stadium. Just don’t expect us to invite you in.

In that case, No. 13 won’t be retired, and in that case, who are retired numbers and Monument Park and Old Timers’ Day and all that for, exactly? Is it for the Yankees to make themselves feel important, or is it for the fans? It should be for the fans, right? This sport – and the Yankees’ rich history – is nothing without the fans. We’re the straw that stirs the drink. Don’t let them forget it.

That all said, my informal poll suggests Yankees fans do not want No. 13 retired for A-Rod:

A small sample of one segment of the fan base, but the poll is the poll. Maybe opinions will change over time. I mean, the Yankees are in the business of waiting 21 years to retire numbers now. Who’s to say they won’t retire No. 13 in 2037? The Yankees haven’t given any indication they will retire No. 13, but that doesn’t mean it will never happen. Never is a long time.

(If the Yankees won't retire No. 13 or invite A-Rod to Old Timers' Day because they feel he embarrassed the organization, then all I would say is the team that puts Randy Levine in front of a microphone every so often should maybe reconsider what qualifies as an embarrassment.)

Also, while on the Monument Park topic, there are still no rumblings about monuments for Yogi Berra or Whitey Ford. Yogi died in Sept. 2015 and Whitey in Oct. 2020. The six monuments in Monument Park were dedicated posthumously and all but one was dedicated within a year of the person’s death (Miller Huggins, the first monument, was put up three years after his death).

If Berra and Ford don’t clear the monument bar, I’m not sure anyone ever will again. And if this is a space issue, as in Monument Park isn’t big enough to accommodate two more monuments, then all I can say is figure it out. That’s not a good reason to pass on a monument for two iconic players and all-time legends. This is disappointing. I hope the Yankees come to their senses and make plans for Yogi and Whitey monuments soon.

3. Rapid fire thoughts. An update on something I mentioned earlier this week: Rangers third base prospect Josh Jung did indeed have shoulder surgery, the team announced. They say it’ll be at least six months until he can hit in a game, so the injury wipes out most of his season. That stinks. Like I said the other day, I don’t think Jung’s injury will take Isiah Kiner-Falefa off the trade market. Texas is still pretty bad and he only has two years of team control remaining, so I think they’ll trade him as long as they get a good offer. If anything, Jung’s injury makes keeping Kiner-Falefa more plausible, giving the Rangers a little more leverage. Will the Yankees show interest? Will the lockout ever end? Stay tuned … Add another name to the assistant hitting coach search: Devin Mesoraco, the former big league catcher. Randy Miller says Mesoraco is in the mix along with random Yankee Eric Hinske, Mark Trumbo, and possibly others. Mesoraco retired in 2019 and is an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh. The Yankees are said to be seeking a former player to replace Eric Chavez and balance out hitting coach Dillon Lawson and assistant Casey Dykes, two analytics types who didn’t play above the college level. I have no opinion of Mesoraco (or Hinske or Trumbo) as an assistant hitting candidate. Who knows anything about these guys beyond their playing careers? Still, the search for Chavez’s replacement is ongoing … And finally, Brendan Kuty reports MLB is considering Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson as a possible site for a regular season game in the future. Hinchliffe is one of only two Negro League ballparks still standing along with Rickwood Field in Birmingham, and it is currently undergoing a $94M restoration. I mentioned it as a possible site in my Commissioner for a Day post a few weeks ago, and given the location and the history (Hinchliffe was home to the New York Black Yankees, among other teams), I gotta think the Yankees would find themselves in a game at Hinchliffe. The restoration projection won’t be completed until the fall, so Hinchliffe won’t be able to host a game until 2023 at the earliest. I am very much in favor of baseball in different places and this would be really neat. I hope MLB finds a way to make it happen. Yankees vs. Guardians* in Negro League uniforms in Paterson. Let’s do it.

* Larry Doby went to high school in Paterson, played for the Negro League’s Newark Eagles at Hinchliffe, and became the American League’s first Black player with Cleveland in 1947. He made his MLB debut on July 5th, 1947. Holding a Larry Doby day celebration with Yankees vs. Guardians at Hinchliffe on July 5th one of these years is a no-brainer.

Mailbag Questions of the Week

Alex asks: Recent baseball activity (or lack thereof) has led me to do a bit more research into MLBPA. I was surprised to find how many significant members of the union are/were Yankees. Current Yankees Zack Britton and Gerrit Cole are Pension Committee Representative and Alternate Pension Committee Representative, respectively. Former Yankee Andrew Miller is an Association Player Representative, while another former Yankee, James Paxton, is a Pension Committee Representative. On top of those names, Jamison Taillon is vocal about his involvement (as a team rep with Pittsburgh, if I remember correctly), even to the point that he and another former Yankee, Sonny Gray, were at (Monday’s) bargaining session.

Interestingly, all those listed here were acquired by the Yankees in trades/FA. I don't really think there's anything significant here, but I was struck by how many present and former Yankees play important roles in MLBPA. I don't think these players' being so involved is why the Yankees acquired them (obviously, their being good at baseball is what matters), but I'm curious if their being so involved with MLBPA can be taken as some proxy for makeup or clubhouse character or something along those lines. Do the Yankees care about this? Or is this just a coincidence? (Or not even a coincidence – maybe the same is basically true of many other teams and I'm just not as attuned to the names of their players!)

It’s probably coincidental. There are eight veteran players on the subcommittee and they have played a combined 86 seasons in MLB. If you pick eight veterans with that much experience at random, chances are you’ll get a few current or former Yankees. The eight players have played for 20 teams and there are multiple current or former Astros (Cole, Jason Castro), Guardians (Miller, Francisco Lindor), Orioles (Britton, Miller), etc. on the subcommittee. It’s not just Yankees.

If you want me to make the case it’s not coincidental, then I’d say it’s because the Yankees make an effort to bring in players lauded as good teammates and clubhouse guys. Those players tend to get voted into MLBPA leadership positions because they’re well-liked and have shown they can relate to players from all different backgrounds and at different points in their careers.

One of the union’s biggest challenges is getting everyone pulling in the same direction. At any given moment there are 1,200 players on 40-man rosters and you’ll never get a consensus with a membership that big. I have no doubt there are players who would take whatever MLB is offering right now just so they can go play baseball. Someone has to reel those guys in.

The players who get voted to the MLBPA’s subcommittee tend to be guys who are respected throughout baseball and have squeaky clean reputations. Max Scherzer is one of the highest ranking players on the subcommittee and he is bulletproof. He has instant credibility given all he’s accomplished. The union needs players like that to get the message across, and if he’s willing to get involved, then you welcome him with open arms.

The subcommittee is star-studded at the moment and I’m not sure whether that’s intentional. When Britton and Cole joined the ranks in 2020, among the players they replaced were Cory Gearrin, a journeyman (and former Yankee) who spent only three full seasons in MLB. Maybe the union went heavy on big names to help with messaging in advance of the Collective Bargaining Agreement talks? I dunno.

There might be a money component to this as well. The subcommittee is generally made up of successful veteran players and the Yankees tend to acquire successful veterans like Britton, Cole, Miller, etc. I don’t think the Yankees intentionally seek out hardcore union players. I just think they gravitate toward the same qualities (good teammates, good track records, etc.) the union wants in its leadership ranks.

Kyle asks: Regarding O’Neill, he is rightfully so an all-time fan favorite, and while number retirement is an entirely subjective exercise, this one in particular reeks of a naked attempt to sell tickets. The irony is not lost on me that Yankee leadership is quick to dismiss the management style of the 90’s dynasty teams as being archaic and unsophisticated, while preaching the merits of their more enlightened austerity, yet they obviously see no issue in monetizing every fiber of nostalgia from that era. On baseball grounds, it is not clear to me why O’Neill would deserve this honor but Cone and Tino would not. Further, is there a particular reason several core members of the 70’s teams seem to have been forgotten by the team? Randolph and Nettles come to mind. Thoughts?

Yeah, the cynic in me believes the Yankees are at least partly doing it to sell tickets during what figures to be a down year for attendance following the lockout. They gave Paul O’Neill a plaque in Monument Park eight years ago. Why is the number being retired now? If the Yankees decided to stop holding No. 21 in limbo, then great, but they haven’t earned the benefit of the doubt and it’s fair to be suspicious of their motivations.

To be clear, O’Neill was a great Yankee, and I don’t think retiring his number is wrong. He won a batting title, got a bunch of MVP votes, went to a bunch of All-Star Games, was the regular No. 3 hitter during the late 1990s dynasty, and was a beloved player. O’Neill hit .317/.397/.517 (138 OPS+) during his six-year peak from 1993-98 and he has four World Series rings. That won’t look out of place in Monument Park.

I don’t know why the Yankees revere the late 1990s teams more than the late 1970s teams – it has to be recency bias, right? more of the fan base remembers the late 1990s, so the Yankees are catering to them – but Kyle’s right. The late 1970s teams are underrepresented in Monument Park. Heck, Ron Guidry’s No. 49 wasn’t retired until he agreed to join the team as pitching coach, nearly 15 years after he retired.

Graig Nettles and especially Willie Randolph are the obvious number retirement candidates from the late 1970s teams. Roy White is in there too, though he was nearing the end of his career in the late 1970s. Here’s WAR leaderboard among Yankees who haven’t had their number retired:

1. Alex Rodriguez (No. 13): +54.0 WAR
2. Willie Randolph (No. 30): + 54.0 WAR
3. Roy White (No. 6): +46.8 WAR
4. Red Ruffing (No. 15): +46.5 WAR (Hall of Famer!)
5. Tony Lazzeri (No. 6): +46.4 WAR (Hall of Famer!)
6. Earle Combs (No. 1): +44.8 WAR (Hall of Famer!)
7. Robinson Cano (No. 24): +44.4 WAR
8. Graig Nettles (No. 9): +44.4 WAR
9. Brett Gardner (No. 11): +44.3 WAR
10. Lefty Gomez (No. 11): +43.4 WAR (Hall of Famer!)

I’m not sure why the Yankees wouldn’t retire No. 30 for Randolph at this point. He was a great player and a central figure on two World Series championship teams, and he was on the coaching staff for a long time too. Randolph spent nearly 25 years in the organization as a player and coach. What’s the bar O’Neill clears for number retirement that Randolph doesn’t?

If it were up to me I’d retire No. 13 for A-Rod, No. 30 for Randolph, and No. 52 for CC Sabathia. I’d also do the double-retirement thing with No. 1 (Combs with Billy Martin), No. 6 (White and Lazzeri with Joe Torre), No. 9 (Nettles with Roger Maris), and No. 15 (Ruffing and Thurman Munson). No. 8 (Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey) and No. 42 (Mariano Rivera and Jackie Robinson) are retired for two players. Why not Nos. 1, 6, 9, and 15 too? Think of all the attendance-boosting ceremonies, Yankees!

(I know people joke the Yankees will run out of numbers because they retire so many, but No. 21 is “only” the 23rd retired number. 23 retired numbers after a century of dominating the sport, much of which was pre-draft and pre-free agency, when the Yankees could sign players and keep them forever (and theoretically have more players worthy of having their numbers retired. They won’t run out of numbers until long after we’re all gone.)

Dan asks: Maybe it’s lockout fatigue but I feel like this is a terrible look for MLB. Could the next CBA include a poison pill clause that forces both sides to meet a set deadline? Something real absurd that hurts all involved. Like Manfred gets fired and replaced by player vote. Or player salaries decided via bingo ball style lottery but only options are $30M or league minimum. Or owners w/ 10 worst records forced to sell the team. Silly examples, but genuinely asking.

Nah, neither side would agree to that. I agree the lockout is a terrible look and I would be in favor of something that avoids future work stoppages, even a poison pill that puts the two sides in a Squid Game scenario where the last man standing gets the Collective Bargaining Agreement of his choosing. Why would either side agree to this though? MLB and the MLBPA hate each other but they need each other, and they don’t want to rush into an agreement. The CBA is going to cover five years of a $10+ billion a year industry. They have to get that right, and an artificial deadline is ripe for screw ups that make labor relations even worse in the future.

Jerry asks: I was reading Keith Law's top 20 prospects article and he made the point that none of them are likely to make a big impact on the Yanks this year, which seems like a fair prediction. I was wondering any of the prospects traded away post-2017 would have? Maybe Kaprellian as a 4th starter, Gallegos and Whitlock as a set-up guys (I don't think Whitlock has a starter's pitch repertoire) and maybe Solak as a corners bench guy. Am I missing anyone?

Among players on my top 30 prospects list, I’d say RHP Luis Gil (No. 4), RHP Deivi Garcia (No. 12), and RHP Clarke Schmidt (No. 15) are the only guys with a chance to make a real impact in 2022, and Garcia would need to get fixed and Schmidt would need to stay healthy. Others like SS Oswaldo Peraza (No. 3), IF Oswald Cabrera (No. 14), OF Estevan Florial (No. 16), RHP Stephen Ridings (No. 19), and RHP Ron Marinaccio (No. 20) could make a difference this year, though I’m not sure I’d count on it.

Among the prospects the Yankees traded or otherwise let get away since 2017, RHP Gio Gallegos and RHP Garrett Whitlock are the ones they miss the most, and are most likely to have a real impact in 2022. They were high-leverage relievers for a contender last year (Gallegos for several years now). You can always fit a guy like that in the bullpen. Here are the other traded prospects since 2017 who could’ve helped the Yankees in 2022:

• 1B Garrett Cooper (Mike King trade): First base or DH.
• RHP James Kaprielian (Sonny Gray trade): No. 5 starter or swingman.
• IF/OF Jorge Mateo (Sonny Gray trade): Bench guy.
• LHP Justus Sheffield (James Paxton trade): No. 5 starter or swingman.
• IF Nick Solak (Brandon Drury trade): Bench guy.

Cooper is the only no-doubt average or better big leaguer in that group. He's been sneaky good the last few seasons, hitting .282/.357/.461 (121 wRC+) with the Marlins since 2019, and he has the exit velocities to match. He would be another righty hitting first base/DH type though, and the Yankees don’t need another one of those.

Kaprielian had a nice run when he first came up last year, cratered after the foreign substance crackdown, then kinda sorta found it later in the season. He’s out of minor league options, so he will be in the big leagues with the Athletics this year. If he were still with the Yankees, he’d be in the Nestor Cortes/Domingo German “if he can’t hack as a starter he’ll go to the bullpen” bucket.

Sheffield and Solak are stuck in the Mariners and Rangers vortex of prospect suck, respectively. Sheffield is a sinker/changeup guy, the profile the Yankees are all about right now, and maybe the Yankees would be able to get more out of him than Seattle, who have screwing up top prospects in their DNA. Otherwise Sheffield, who allowed 69 runs in 80.1 innings last year, would be in the Cortes/German bucket with Kaprielian. Maybe even a notch below them.

Solak was in the 90/90 club two years ago! Then he hit .242/.314/.362 (89 wRC+) in 2022 and the Rangers spent $500M on Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. Joey Gallo is the only top Rangers position player prospect to have any sort of sustained success the last 5-10 years. Willie Calhoun, Nomar Mazara, Rougned Odor, and Jurickson Profar all came up as top prospects, then completely flopped. I fear Solak is heading for the same fate.

OF Jake Cave (Luis Gil trade), IF Diego Castillo (Clay Holmes trade), RHP J.P. Feyereisen (international bonus money trade), IF Hoy Jun Park (Holmes trade), LHP Josh Rogers (Zack Britton trade), RHP Dillon Tate (Britton trade), RHP Taylor Widener (Drury trade), and RHP Miguel Yajure (Jameson Taillon trade) could’ve helped the Yankees as up-and-down depth types, but I wouldn’t say they’re missed or difficult to replace.

RHP Roansy Contreras (Taillon trade) is a consensus top 100 prospect now, though I’d put him in the Luis Gil bucket as a high-upside guy who ideally would spend a good chunk of the season in Triple-A to finish off his development rather than someone I’d have in my Opening Day rotation and count on to make an impact. In a year or two Contreras could be the one who got away.

The Yankees have traded a lot of prospects the last few years (I’d argue they should have traded more at the 2019 and 2020 deadlines) and they don’t really miss any of them. Gallegos and Whitlock would obviously have a home in the bullpen, though the Yankees don’t appear to be desperate for relief help. You can find a way to fit Cooper and Kaprielian (and maybe Sheffield) on the roster too. Other than them, I don’t think anyone the Yankees have parted with the last five seasons would really move the needle in 2022.

Brian asks: I saw on Views that a draft lottery is being proposed in the CBA. MLB wanted it for the top four, MLBPA wanted it for the top 7. But doesn't that actually encourage more teams to just throw in the towel and tank it? I kind of hate it, and feel like too many NBA teams are actively tanking for that lottery pick.

I’m not sure if a draft lottery encourages more teams to tank, but it doesn’t discourage them from tanking. The NBA and NHL have draft lotteries and teams tank in those leagues all the time. Maybe the difference is the No. 1 pick in the NHL and NBA (and NFL, which doesn’t have a draft lottery) will jump right into your lineup, so it’s worth tanking and getting a shot at that player. Even the very best No. 1 picks in the MLB draft will need years of development before making a difference. Either way, lotteries haven’t stopped tanking.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the single best way to combat tanking and service time manipulation is hitting owners in the wallet. It is the only language they speak. Take away revenue sharing dollars each time they finish under .500, make them pay a tax, whatever. Taking away or lowering the value of a draft pick isn’t enough of an incentive when you cut millions off payroll (money that gets redirected into the owner’s pocket) by fielding a non-competitive team.

As far as we know the MLBPA hasn’t proposed anything other than a draft lottery to curb tanking, so I’m not sure they realize how little a lottery will help. The Yankees have not had a top 10 pick since taking Derek Jeter with the No. 6 pick in 1992. At some point the winning season streak will end and they’ll have a top 10 pick again (I don’t know when it’ll happen but it will happen), and at that point I will concern myself with the lottery. For now, it’s not enough to stop tanking. Not even close. The NBA and NHL are all the evidence you need.

Joe asks: Why can't we get MLB players into big-time commercials? I see second and third-tier NFL and NBA players all the time, but we can't even get Aaron Judge or Bryce Harper to hang out with Jake from State Farm?

Hey, Aaron Judge was in a Pepsi commercial. Have there been any other notable commercials for something other than a sports network or a video game involving baseball players? There is Nike’s iconic “Chicks Dig The Long Ball” commercial and that’s really it. Nothing else jumps to mind, though I admit my memory isn’t what it used to be. I could be forgetting something.

For the most part baseball players are pretty boring, and the ones who aren’t boring tend to get shouted down by the unwritten rules police for daring to show personality. MLB does a terrible job promoting its players (Rob Manfred’s M.O. is opposite of promoting players, it’s turning them into villains) and they don’t seem willing to even try to promote the game.

Getting players into commercials would help, though if you want to grow the game, I think the best way to do it is increasing access. No more broadcast blackouts, make everything cheaper (tickets, streaming packages, etc.), donate more equipment to youth leagues so kids can play without parents having to worry about affording equipment, etc. Make the sport easier to play and follow. That’s the first step in increasing the game’s visibility and popularity.

Do I expect MLB to take the financial hit necessary to make that stuff happen? Absolutely not, but it would be in the game’s best interests, and the owners have a long-term stake in the health of the sport. You’d think they would at least somewhat prioritize the future of the game. I don’t think we’ve seen any evidence of that though. MLB sucks at promoting its players and cultivating fans in general.

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