September 7th, 2021: Orioles, Heaney, Torres, Kluber, Loaisiga

It was fun thinking the Yankees turned a corner for a few weeks there, wasn’t it? The first half offense is back, the late inning relievers are hurt or unreliable, and the trade deadline additions have been a net negative (even Anthony Rizzo hasn’t been anything special). Tough to feel confident in this team right now. The Yankees are on pace to go 92-70 with 25 games remaining. To today’s thoughts.

1. Weekend thoughts. Luke Voit has started six of the last 13 games and he is 4-for-26 (.154) with 13 strikeouts in those games. He looks like he did when he first got back from the injured list (all three times) and was trying to make up for the lost time with one swing. Now he’s trying to make up for the time on the bench with one swing. Voit sat against a lefty (!) yesterday so Brett Gardner could start in center. The Yankees have put this guy -- the reigning MLB home run king! -- in such a poor position to succeed the last two weeks. It is aggravating. A few thoughts on the last few games.

The Orioles series

What an embarrassing weekend. The Yankees lost two of three to an Orioles team that is indifferent as much as it is rebuilding, and they were very nearly swept (the Yankees needed 11 innings to eke out a one-run win Friday night). Baltimore is 7-9 against the Yankees this year. They haven’t won more than four games against any other team.

“Incredibly frustrating that we didn’t put our best foot forward in the past couple of days,” Aaron Boone, the man who writes the lineup and makes pitching changes, told Betelhem Ashame after Sunday’s game. “We’ve got to do better. But the good thing is we hold the pen, we get to write the story still. And we’ve responded from tough days, tough moments, tough stretches, and we have to do it again.”

The Yankees were out-hit, out-pitched, out-defended, out-hustled, and out-managed by an O’s team that already has their vacations lined up for October. Bad series happen. They do and that’s baseball. But they’ve happened too often for the Yankees this year, and to have a bad series against that team in the middle of a postseason race is unacceptable, full stop.

Boone’s team has lost seven of nine since the 13-game winning streak, a 13-game winning streak that wasn’t all that convincing. Eight of the 13 wins were by one or two runs, and four times they were on the verge of disaster in the ninth inning before someone came out of the bullpen to bail out the closer du jour. The Twins series was easy. Every other win was a grind.

The Yankees right now look like the April through June version of the Yankees, and as the data piles up, the July and August Yankees look more like the outlier, not the April through June (and September) version. Losing a series to the Orioles at home in a postseason race in September is embarrassing and unacceptable, and also completely par of the course for the 2021 Yankees.

Heaney’s gotta go

Last week the Blue Jays admitted their mistake and designated trade deadline pickup Brad Hand for assignment. They didn’t wait around and hope things got better. They cut their losses and moved on. The Yankees need to do the same with Andrew Heaney. He’s up to 24 runs in 28.1 innings in pinstripes and opponents are slugging .617 against him.

“(Heaney) was the victim of some soft contact, but in the end, just couldn’t get out of the inning,” Boone told Ashame after Sunday’s game (to be fair, three of the four hits Heaney allowed had exit velocities of 58.7 mph, 83.4 mph, and 64.7 mph). “It’s an important role down there, and he’s going to have to share some of that. (He’s) going to have to step up. He wants the ball, and he’s going to have to take advantage of another opportunity when he gets it.”

Clearly the Yankees are not ready to move on from Heaney, but that’s a mistake. If you can’t trust a guy to protect a three-run lead against Literally The Orioles*, then he has no business being on the roster. It’s time to dump Heaney and bring Luis Gil back. It’s September 7th and the Yankees are fighting for a postseason spot. Get the 28 best players on the roster already.

* To be fair to Heaney again, the bullpen management Sunday was ridiculous. Wandy Peralta was apparently available and Chad Green was definitely available for two innings, yet Heaney was sent out to face the middle of the lineup with *five* right-handed hitters coming up. What are we even doing here?

Heaney has been a total pro with the Yankees -- “Doesn’t bother me. We’ve got a lot of good pitchers,” he told Brendan Kuty after being demoted to the bullpen -- which is admirable, but there’s more to this than being a pro and a good teammate. You’ve gotta get outs too, and the statute of limitations on Heaney’s start against the Red Sox has expired. He’s a liability.

I understand no team wants to part with rotation depth in September, not as countless pitchers around the league appear to be hitting a wall following the shortened season, but if a guy is pitching this poorly, does he really count as depth? Replacement level isn’t depth. The Yankees gave Heaney a look, it didn’t work out, now move on and try other arms in the organization.

Gleyber’s defense

No play was more emblematic of the Orioles series than Gleyber Torres turning a routine ground ball into an infield single with sheer carelessness Sunday afternoon. The degree of difficulty was basically zero and it still was not converted into an out (video link).

“It’s a ground ball to short, we have to make that play,” Boone told Scott Thompson about the play, which is about as much as Boone will criticize a player publicly. Torres chalked it up to “(the) field was a little bit wet ... I just tried to grab the ball really well,” which isn’t unreasonable given the rain, but no other player had trouble and neither did Torres on his other plays.

This wasn’t a one-time mistake. It’s not even the first time Gleyber’s turned a routine ground ball into a costly infield single against the Orioles this year! The ground ball was as routine as it gets, he didn’t make the play, and the next batter hit the ball out of the park when the inning should’ve been over. It was a game-changing mistake and it was completely avoidable.

I’ve been writing about Gleyber’s defense for years and so many of his problems stem from botching routine plays. The Yankees acknowledge it -- “Such an important part of that position is the routine and getting great at the routine. If he can do that, he can stay there and thrive,” Boone told Kuty over the winter -- and yet it hasn’t improved.

That reflects terribly on Torres and also on the coaching staff and a manager that have failed to get the most out of the organization’s most talented early-20-something since Robbie Cano. If Torres were hitting, the defense would be easier to swallow, but he’s not. I’m not asking for Gold Glove defense here. Just competence. Make routine plays. That’s the bare minimum.

Gleyber has played his way off the shortstop position. We know that because the Yankees tried to replace him at the trade deadline. They pursued Trevor Story and also asked about Andrelton Simmons, reportedly. Torres returning to second base next year seems fait accompli, except his issues with routine plays will follow him there, because we saw them in 2018 and 2019.

In the grand scheme of things, Gleyber’s defense is a minor worry compared to his nosedive at the plate. Going from 38 homers at age 22 to nine in 145 games at ages 23-24 is the sort of thing that raises red flags about the player and the organization. Sunday’s botched play was an unacceptable unforced error and one of many problems with Torres these days.

Kluber’s two starts

Two starts into his return from the shoulder injury, Corey Kluber looks like he did in April, when he was making what looked like rehab starts in the big leagues. His control has been crummy (five walks and a hit batter in 7.2 innings, plus a lot of long counts) but there are enough sharp sliders and nasty pitches in general that make you believe better days are ahead.

This is a results-based business and a results-based time of year though, and in his two starts back Kluber has allowed seven runs and put 15 men on base in 7.2 innings. Against the Angels (without Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, no less) and Orioles at that. He isn’t pitching well and he’s taxing the bullpen. The season ends in a little less than four weeks. The Yankees and Kluber don’t have much time to get things moving in the right direction.

2. Loaisiga’s shoulder injury. Other than Gerrit Cole and Aaron Judge, I’m not sure there is a more indispensable Yankee this year than Jonathan Loaisiga. He has been the club’s best and most consistently excellent reliever, often throwing multiple innings in high leverage situations. Loaisiga hasn’t been 1996 Mariano Rivera good, but he’s filled a similar role.

Because we can’t have nice things, Loaisiga landed on the injured list with a rotator cuff strain over the weekend. He received a cortisone shot and will not throw for at least 10 days. Seeing how the season ends in 26 days (and the Yankees are not guaranteed to play more than one postseason game, if any), any sort of delay or setback could end Loaisiga’s season.

“Obviously that’s a tough loss for us, which hopefully is only a couple weeks, but still something we’ll have to navigate,” Aaron Boone told Greg Joyce about Loaisiga’s injury. “... It’s been a challenge this year with the amount of close games we’ve played, but hopefully this is something that is a little bit of a timeout and we get him back for the stretch drive.”

At the time of the injury Loaisiga’s 68 innings ranked fourth among full-time relievers and were nearly as many as he threw the last two years combined (72.1). He’s thrown an awful lot of intense high leverage innings this season. They’re taxing. 68 high leverage innings are not the same as 68 mop up innings. Plus Loaisiga has a long arm injury history:

• 2014-15: Did not pitch due to shoulder problems (while with the Giants).
• 2016-17: Limited to 35 innings by Tommy John surgery.
• 2018: Missed two months with shoulder inflammation.
• 2019: Missed three months with a shoulder strain.

There was no indication Loaisiga was hurt before being placed on the injured list -- he hit 100.4 mph Friday, his seventh fastest pitch of the year (six of his seven fastest have come in the last four weeks) -- which I guess is good news. It can’t be that bad if he was throwing 100 two days earlier, right? At the same time, a cortisone shot suggests some level of seriousness.

Maybe all the high leverage work finally caught up with Loaisiga, or maybe this is just a guy with an injury history getting hurt again. Whatever it is, the Yankees will be without their ace reliever for the foreseeable future. Loaisiga won’t throw for at least 10 days, so the best case scenario is what, two weeks on the shelf and return with two weeks to go in the regular season?

Loaisiga led relievers with +2.2 fWAR and was second with +2.8 bWAR at the time of his injury -- I think WAR underrates high leverage relievers but let’s roll with it -- and that makes him irreplaceable. Can’t replace the best. Reliever injuries have a domino effect on the rest of the bullpen, and remember, Zack Britton is out too. Everyone on the depth chart moves up a peg.

First and foremost, Chad Green and Aroldis Chapman have to be better. Obvious statement is obvious, I know, but it’s true. Green has been good overall but has given up more than a few back-breaking homers the last few weeks. They’re pretty much the only runs he gives up! Eight runs in his last 21 innings and they’re broken down into …

• … three solo homers.
• … two two-run homers.
• … one single with the automatic runner at second base in extra innings.

Green’s dingeritis has come at a bad time. Chapman has been unreliable since mid June and now the Yankees can’t even entertain the idea of making Loaisiga the closer (the Yankees have shown they will keep running Chapman out there in save situations and hope for the best anyway). They badly need Green and Chapman to hold things down in the late innings.

Secondly, Clay Holmes and Wandy Peralta (and Albert Abreu) are now in line to see more high leverage work, and Holmes is similar to Loaisiga as a sinker guy with big velocity. I’m not sure he can work multiple innings like Loaisiga -- Holmes has gotten more than three outs only 11 times in 56 appearances this year -- but he could fill the void as the righty ground ball guy.

Third, the Yankees have to consider putting Luis Gil in the bullpen. I know they want to use him to make spot starts during this 20 games in 20 days stretch (he’s starting tomorrow), but given how many close games the Yankees play, I’d rather use Gil’s power stuff in relief down the stretch. He can impact more games there. Let Clarke Schmidt make those spot starts instead.

The offense could make life a lot easier on the pitching staff as well, though we’ve been waiting for the offense to get going all year, and it’s just not happening. They have spurts here and there that make you think they’re coming around, but nope. 32 runs in their last nine games now (3.56 per game). The offense has given the pitchers no breathing room all year. It’s just not going to happen this season.

With Loaisiga out, the Yankees have to rely on their other relievers to pick up the slack, and also rely on Boone to pull the right strings. That is not a good place to be. Boone has demonstrated no skill at maximizing his roster. Hopefully Loaisiga returns soon because he is really good and really important. It’s not often losing one reliever is this devastating, but Loaisiga is not most relievers.

“It’s definitely tough losing (Loaisiga). We don’t know how long he’s going to be out,” Gary Sanchez told Joyce. “... At the same time, I feel like we have a really good bullpen. I have a lot of confidence in the guys in that bullpen. I know they’re going to be able to do their job.”

3. Four things I want to see the rest of the season. There are three weeks and five days remaining in the regular season and we’re all pulling for the same stuff (I think). We want the Yankees to reach the postseason, win the World Series, etc. That stuff is obvious. There’s also a bunch of other stuff I want to see during this final stretch. Here are four things I’m pulling for these last few weeks.

Cole breaking Guidry’s record

There is less than a month remaining in the regular season and Gerrit Cole has a real chance to break Ron Guidry’s franchise record 248 strikeouts in 1978. Cole currently has 215 strikeouts with five starts remaining. He needs to average 6.6 strikeouts per start the rest of the way to tie Guidry. Anything more than that and Cole will break the record.

Like many others, Cole’s strikeout rate dipped as his spin rates declined following MLB’s foreign substance crackdown in June, though it has bounced back in recent weeks (his strikeout rate, not his spin rates) …

... and last time out he had a 15-strikeout game. Averaging 6.6 strikeouts per start from here on out is extremely doable, especially since Cole tentatively lines up to face three unimpressive offenses in his last five starts (Cleveland, Mets, and Rangers, plus the Blue Jays twice).

The thing about Guidry’s record is that 248 strikeouts is a shockingly low total for the most in a single season in a franchise’s history. The Yankees are known more for their hitters, historically, not their pitchers, but that’s still a very low total given how long the Yankees have been around. Here are the lowest single season franchise record strikeout totals:

1. Rockies: 230 (German Marquez in 2018)
2. Orioles: 232 (Rube Waddell in 1908)
3. Royals: 244 (Dennis Leonard in 1974)
4. Yankees: 248 (Ron Guidry in 1978)
5. Rays: 252 (Chris Archer in 2015)

Cole could have the first 250-strikeout season in Yankees history. The Rays and Marlins (the late Jose Fernandez had 253 in 2016) and Padres (Kevin Brown had 257 in 1998) have had 250-strikeout seasons, but nope, not the Yankees. Pretty crazy.

Also, Cole breaking Guidry’s record would make him the third pitcher to hold the single-season strikeout record for two franchises. His 326 strikeouts in 2019 stand as the Astros record. He’d join Hall of Famers Randy Johnson (308 with the 1993 Mariners and 372 with the 2001 Diamondbacks) and Pedro Martinez (205 with the 1997 Expos and 313 with the 1999 Red Sox) in the club.

That Cole still has a chance to break Guidry’s record is pretty incredible considering the sticky stuff crackdown and his 17-day COVID absence. If not for those two things, Cole might have already broken Guidry’s record, and we would have instead been here talking about a possible 300-strikeout season. Maybe next year.

Judge stealing four more bases

Remember when the Yankees stole bases? They stole 34 bases in 40 attempts in the first 38 games after the All-Star break. In the 10 games since, they’ve stolen one base in three attempts. The returns of Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, and Gio Urshela have meant less playing time for Brett Gardner and Andrew Velazquez, which partially explains fewer steals.

Aaron Judge was a big part of the stolen base resurgence. He stole just one base (in one attempt) in 89 games in the first half. He then stole five bases (in five attempts) in his first 27 games of the second half. Judge stolen bases are good because they help the team (duh) but man, they worry me because every slide looks like a car wreck. He’s so big!

Anyway, with four more stolen bases, Judge would become the Yankees’ first player with double digit homers and steals in the same season since, well, Gardner in 2019 (28 homers and 10 steals). It has been nearly a decade since the Yankees last had a player with 30 homers and 10 steals though. Here are the last five:

• Curtis Granderson: 43 HR and 10 SB in 2012
• Curtis Granderson: 41 HR and 25 SB in 2011
• Alex Rodriguez: 30 HR and 14 SB in 2009
• Alex Rodriguez: 35 HR and 18 SB in 2008
• Alex Rodriguez: 54 HR and 24 SB in 2007

A-Rod also did it in 2004, 2005, and 2006. Gary Sheffield did it in 2005, Alfonso Soriano did it in 2002 and 2003, and Bernie Williams did it in 2000. Before that, you have to go all the way back to Dave Winfield in 1983. No one did it in the 1990s, somehow. That was a 17-year drought. The Yankees are now in a nine-year drought without a 30-homer/10-steal guy.

Stealing four bases in the final 25 games is doable, even after stealing only six bases in the first 137 games. One game with two stolen bases and Judge is right there (he only has one career two-steal game, I should note, and it came back in 2018). A 30-homer/10-steal season is a cool accomplishment and that’s really it, but I like cool accomplishments, and I hope Judge gets there.

LeMahieu finishing with OBP > SLG

We’re in September and it’s time to accept DJ LeMahieu’s power isn’t returning. Hopefully it comes back next year, but this year? Forget it. It’s gone. Chet Gutwein wrote a good piece examining LeMahieu’s power outage and it comes down to him hitting the kinds of batted balls most hurt by the deadened baseball. Lotsa balls that snuck over the wall the last two years are now being caught for outs.

LeMahieu owns a .268/.349/.366 (101 wRC+) line, putting an OBP > SLG season within reach. That’s the Willie Randolph special. Randolph had a higher OBP than SLG every year from 1978-86 and he retired with a .373 OBP and a .351 SLG. Here are the last five Yankees to finish a season with OBP > SLG and enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title:

• Brett Gardner: .383 OBP and .380 SLG in 2010
• Wade Boggs: .378 OBP and .363 SLG in 1993
• Willie Randolph: .393 OBP and .346 SLG in 1986
• Willie Randolph: .382 OBP and .356 SLG in 1985
• Bob Meacham: .302 OBP and .266 SLG in 1985 (lol)

The last player to do the OBP > SLG thing while qualifying for the batting title was Jamey Carroll with the 2012 Twins (.343 OBP and .317 SLG). Chone Figgins, Jason Kendall, and Juan Pierre each did it a few times in the 2000s, though it doesn’t happen all that often in general. We’re looking at possible history here, people!

It won’t be easy to close the 17-point gap in OBP and SLG. There’s not much time left in the season and OBP and SLG are tied together. Both go up with each hit and both go down with each out. LeMahieu will need to pile up a lot of walks and singles the next few weeks to do it. I am weirdly rooting for this to happen. If LeMahieu’s going to have a powerless season*, then really lean into it and go full Randolph.

* LeMahieu has nine homers in 130 games this year. He hit 10 in 50 games last year. Sigh.

Severino returning

At this point I’ve kinda given up on Luis Severino returning this season, and I’ve definitely given up on him returning in a meaningful role. He’s had two setbacks during his Tommy John surgery rehab, and while he has resumed playing catch following his recent shoulder issue, Severino is still a ways away from game action. He is running out of time.

“The main thing is I feel good, healthy. If I can’t throw this year, I’ll be ready for next year. But myself, I feel confident that I can throw this year,” Severino told Greg Joyce over the weekend. “I’m ready to do whatever they want me to do. At this point, it’s not about me, it’s about the team. So if they do it -- throw me in the pen -- I will do that.”

Although I don’t expect him to come back and contribute in a meaningful way, I still want to see Severino make it back this year, even if only for a few token innings the final week. He’s barely pitched the last three years. A late return would be a reward after that long rehab grind, and to remind him he’s part of the team. Tommy John surgery rehab can be lonely as hell.

The Yankees did exactly this with Jordan Montgomery in 2019. He was far enough along with his Tommy John surgery rehab that he could pitch in games, though he wasn’t stretched out to start and there was no chance he’d throw innings that meant something. The Yankees could have easily shut Montgomery down for the year and had him get ready for 2020.

Instead, the Yankees brought Montgomery back in late September and got him into two games. He threw two innings and 41 pitches in each of them, spoke about how grateful he was for the opportunity and how it gave him peace of mind going into the offseason. I hope the Yankees can do the same for Severino, even if he won’t factor into the postseason race.

“That’s a long, long road back,” Aaron Boone told Jordan Horrobin about Montgomery’s return in 2019, and he could easily say the same about Severino in 2021. “This is a young man and a guy that’s already had success at the big league level. When you have a major injury -- all the hard work that goes into getting back -- for him to put himself in this position to get out there this final month, a lot of credit goes to Monty.”

4. Remembering a random Yankee: Jose Canseco. This week’s random Yankees comes by request and is a player who had one of the more confounding stints in pinstripes. Confounding as in why did it even happen? Here’s the random Yankee archive. You can find links back to everyone we've covered there.

Canseco was born in Cuba and his family was allowed to leave the island in 1965, when he and his twin brother Ozzie were still infants. The Cansecos settled in Miami and the Athletics selected Jose in the 15th round of the 1982 draft out of Miami Coral Park High School. He made his MLB debut in Sept. 1985 and was named Rookie of the Year in 1986, when he slugged 33 homers.

From 1986-91, Canseco and Mark McGwire formed the Bash Brothers -- Canseco led MLB with 204 homers those years and McGwire was fourth with 178 -- and in 1988, Canseco became the first 40/40 player in history (42 homers and 40 steals). That earned him MVP honors. Canseco and McGwire helped Oakland win three straight AL pennants from 1988-90 as well as the 1989 World Series title.

Canseco was one of the best players in baseball at the time and the A’s had him under contract through 1995, though their relationship was starting to strain. Most notably, he complained of a back issue in Aug. 1992, and left the stadium before the game ended. Oakland was 79-52 and 6.5 games up in the AL West on the morning of Aug. 31st, 1992. That day they traded Canseco.

“I’m in shock,” Canseco told Ross Newhan after being sent to the division rival Rangers for Ruben Sierra and righties Jeff Russell and Bobby Witt. “I guess the club figured it needed pitching or maybe the fans tired of Jose Canseco. Maybe I wore out my welcome, but I hope they miss me as a player and person.”

Canseco spent 1992-94 with the Rangers and during that time he a) hit 45 home runs in 193 games, b) blew out his elbow during a pitching appearance and needed Tommy John surgery, and c) made arguably the greatest blooper in baseball history. He then spent 1995-96 with the Red Sox, returned to the Athletics in 1997, and spent 1998 with the Blue Jays.

The (Devil) Rays were looking to make a big splash following their inaugural season and, on Dec. 10th, 1998, they signed Canseco to a two-year deal worth roughly $7M. The contract also included a clause stipulating Canseco would wear a Tampa hat on his plaque if he were elected to the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame took over hat decisions after that*.

* Rumor has it the (Devil) Rays promised Wade Boggs a cash bonus if he went into the Hall of Fame wearing their hat. Boggs denies it, but that and the Canseco thing was enough for the folks at the Hall of Fame to take over hat decisions. These days the player has some input, but it is ultimately the Hall of Fame has the final call.

"For the Devil Rays to continue to grow toward being a championship organization, we had to address our major deficiency, and that is right-handed power,” Tampa then-GM Chuck LaMar told Dave Cunningham. “We couldn't be more pleased to sign Jose Canseco to fit that need. It's not a secret we were last in the league in almost every power category on offense.”

Canseco hit 34 home runs and was an All-Star in 1999 -- he hit 31 homers in the first half and only three in the second half -- then battled back and foot problems in 2000. He hit nine homers in 61 games with the (Devil) Rays around the injury. Tampa was very bad (they went 69-93 in 2000) and Canseco was in the final year of his deal, so he became a trade candidate.

The Yankees were looking to three-peat in 2000 and they were short on power. They went into the All-Star break ranked 20th in baseball with 100 homers and Bernie Williams (30), Jorge Posada (28), and trade deadline pickup David Justice (20 with Yankees) were the only Yankees to hit 20+ homers that year. The inability to hit the ball out of the park was a glaring weakness.

Brian Cashman addressed the power deficiency at the trade deadline with Justice and random Yankee Glenallen Hill. The (Devil) Rays did not trade Canseco at the deadline, and on Aug. 7th, Cashman claimed the then-35-year-old on trade waivers. Tampa simply let him go and dumped the rest of his contract (about $2M including incentives he eventually reached) on the Yankees.

"Hopefully he can affect a few games for us down the stretch and be a positive impact as we try to (three-peat),” Cashman told the Associated Press. “Canseco can give us a quality right-handed bat to help our production. He gives Joe (Torre) another quality option off the bench or in the DH role, depending on how he sees fit."

Under the old trade waivers rules, a team had three options once a player was claimed: pull him back and keep him, let him go on waivers, or trade him to the team that claimed him. If the player was not claimed, he could be traded anywhere. Cashman later admitted he only claimed Canseco to block him from going to the Athletics, a potential postseason opponent, and did not expect the (Devil) Rays to let him go for nothing.

''I think they got caught up in something they didn't think about, but I'm behind my people,” George Steinbrenner told Jack Curry following the Canseco claim. “I'm totally supportive of what they did. I'm happy the man is coming here, and I'm hoping he does the job for me.''

The move surprised Torre -- "I'm stunned. I don't get surprised too often, but I was surprised. Hopefully he will help us win a game," he told the Associated Press -- because the Yankees already had several DH types, most notably Justice and Hill. ''I think I can play shortstop and a little bit of third base,” Canseco jokingly told Curry when asked about his role with the Yankees.

Curry says the Yankees first inquired about Canseco after Shane Spencer hurt his knee the day before the All-Star break, but the asking price was high (which is why Cashman didn’t expect Tampa to let him go on waivers), so they shifted gears and tried to land Juan Gonzalez and then Sammy Sosa. When those trades didn’t come together, only then did the Yankees focus on Justice. Good thing all those deals fell apart, huh?

"The Tampa Bay Devil Rays got the opportunity to give young players at-bats and save $2M. To them, it may not be nothing. To us it's a lot,” LaMar told the Associated Press. “... We made the decision as an organization when we put Jose out on waivers that if someone claimed him, there was tremendous chance I would let him go.”

(Curry also says the Yankees claimed Frank Thomas on trade waivers prior to claiming Canseco, and the White Sox seriously considered letting him go. Thomas was still productive but he was beginning to break down physically, and there was a lot of money remaining on his unique contract. Ultimately, Chicago kept Thomas and the Yankees wound up with Canseco.)

"I was happy in one sense and depressed in another sense," Canseco told the Associated Press following the waiver claim. "I made a lot of great friends here in Tampa and in that sense I'm sad I'm leaving. I'm getting an opportunity to play for a team in contention right now."

The Yankees put Justice in left field and used Canseco as their most of the time DH the final eight weeks of the season and you know what? Canseco was pretty good, at least initially. He went 4-for-9 with two home runs and two doubles in his first four games with the team. I was at Yankee Stadium for his first home run as a Yankee, a towering shot against the A’s (video).

“I was just thinking, 'Don't try to do too much. Just do what you do. You've been at it for 15 years,’” Canseco told Curry following the game. “Everything is going so fast. I'm not only trying to get acclimated to playing for the Yankees, but possibly to a new role.”

Canseco started 21 of the team's first 34 games following the claim and hit .289/.412/.566 with six home runs. He drove in 18 runs and went 11-for-26 (.413) with three homers against lefties. Canseco slumped down the stretch (5-for-35 in his final 11 games), but the Yankees won the AL East by only two games with an 87-74 record that year. He helped those first 34 games.

In 37 games with the Yankees, Canseco hit .243/.365/.432 (103 OPS+) with six homers in 137 plate appearances, and went 13-for-35 (.371) with three homers against lefties. He was on the ALDS roster that year but did not play (Chuck Knoblauch was limited by an achy elbow, so he and Hill shared DH duty while Canseco sat), then was dropped from the roster for the ALCS.

“I've never been in this position before but it's probably the right move,” Canseco told Buster Olney about being dropped from the postseason roster in favor of an extra pitcher (Jason Grimsley!). “I think you always want to be a part of the team, even if sometimes you're playing daily and you don't produce.”

Canseco was put back on the roster for the World Series because the Yankees needed a righty pinch-hitter with power for games in the National League park. He got one at-bat against the Mets in the World Series, pinch-hitting for David Cone with runners on first and second and two outs in the sixth inning of Game 4 with the Yankees down 3-2. Canseco struck out feebly against lefty Glendon Rusch in what would be the final postseason at-bat of his career (video).

The Yankees of course declined Canseco’s $4M club option after the season and he eventually signed a one-year deal worth only $200,000 guaranteed with the Angels in Jan. 2001. In Spring Training he called his stint with the Yankees the “worst time in my life,” citing his limited role in the postseason. Canseco even said he wasn’t sure he’d get a World Series ring.

“Absolutely,” Cashman told Olney when asked whether Canseco would get a ring. “There is no question he was a member of this team and he did contribute. We only won this division by two games, and while he may have played a small part, he definitely played a part and he contributed.”

The Angels released Canseco at the end of camp, he hooked on with the independent Newark Bears, then signed with the White Sox in June. He hit .258/.366/.477  with 16 home runs in 76 games with Chicago that year, then spent some time in Triple-A with the White Sox in 2002. At that point his MLB career was over after 462 homers and a .266/.353/.515 (132 OPS+) line.

From there Canseco bounced around various independent leagues (he was playing as recently as 2018), admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career, ratted out teammates who used PEDs to help sell his book, and started a weird one-sided Twitter feud with Alex Rodriguez. His time in (and after) baseball was eventful, though not so much during his brief stint with the Yankees.

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