June 7th, 2021: Boone, Cole, Taillon, Stanton, Gittens, Odor, All-Star Game

UPDATE: My bi-weekly Yankees post at CBS is live. I took a dive into Luis Severino's rehab start, and also looked at their baserunning issues and problems with AL East rivals.

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A thorough depantsing at home, a manager who couldn’t bother to argue an egregious strike three call, and a season beginning to circle the drain. The Yankees are fading with a whimper befitting a team that has shown a glass jaw since last year. They’re on pace to go 84-78 with 102 games remaining. Here are Tuesday morning's thoughts Monday night because it's an off-day, and because I have some stuff to do tomorrow.

1. Weekend observations. At 31-29 with a -4 run differential, the Yankees are worse than they were during the 60-game season a year ago (33-27 and +45 run differential), when they wouldn’t have made a standard 10-team postseason field. The AL East title odds are down to 19.5% and you can forget about that. I see no reason to believe these Yankees can be seven games better than the Rays the rest of the way, to say nothing of the Red Sox and Blue Jays. The postseason odds:

This team’s upside is a third Wild Card Game berth in the last four 162-game seasons. In the grand scheme of things, seven games don’t tell us much, but the last seven games reinforced what we’ve seen all season: the Yankees do basically nothing at a contender’s level. They pitch well enough. That’s it. The offense, defense, baserunning, and managerial moves (why did Aroldis Chapman not go out for the tenth inning Sunday after throwing only 12 pitches in the ninth with an off-day Monday?) are below what is necessary to win something substantial in this league, and it’s shown the last two years.

“It’s an awful week for us, culminating in the end of this homestand,” Aaron Boone told Dan Martin following Sunday’s game. “We’ve gotta get right. We’ve got to get better. It starts now on the road as we head to Minnesota … We had a lot of big at-bats late, but we’ve got to find a way to start scratching out some Ws.”

The Twins had a chance to get their season on track with 13 straight games against the Orioles and Royals, and they went 7-6 while being outscored 68-57. They're bad. Anything less than a sweep these next three games should be considered a disappointment. Sweeps are hard! But the Twins stink, they’re starting their Nos. 3-5 starters this week, and if the Yankees can’t feel confident against that team given the history, they’re done. Done done. Some thoughts on the weekend.

The blown call

Let’s start with the obvious: the called strike three on Rougned Odor was atrocious. Here’s the video if you haven’t seen it. That’s not even “too close to take” territory. At 14.2 inches away from the center of the plate, it is the farthest outside pitch called a strike against the Yankees this season. It’s not the farthest called strike this season overall (this was 16.0 inches), but it is the farthest against the Yankees since this pitch last year (15.7 inches), which came courtesy of the “it’s the last day of the regular season, let's get out of here” strike zone.

Odor should’ve walked to load the bases with two outs for Clint Frazier, with Matt Barnes having already thrown 22 pitches and pitching for the third straight night. Maybe Clint pops up or stares at strike three and none of this matters. Or maybe Barnes, who’d already walked two in the inning and essentially walked Odor as well, issues a walk-off walk. Who knows? I would’ve liked to have found out. The Yankees’ win probability went from 63.8% before the called strike to 50.0% after. Costly.

To that end, I have no idea why Boone was not out of the dugout and in home plate umpire Gabe Morales’ face before the Red Sox even walked off the field. A tirade would have been 100% justified -- it was a horrendous call in a huge spot in an important game with the Yankees reeling -- and Boone just stood there. Third base coach Phil Nevin, who has not yet been cleared to return to the field and still has an IV port in his arm, came out to argue and was ejected. Not Boone though.

“Obviously, I was a little worried about him right there,” Boone told Zach Braziller, referring to Nevin’s recent COVID battle and health issues. “I was concerned for him. You guys all know Phil and how fiery he is.”

In the next half inning, when Luis Cessa didn’t get the call on a borderline pitch, bench coach Carlos Mendoza was ejected for yelling at Morales, again while Boone stood idle (it looked like hitting coach Marcus Thames was doing most of the chirping, yet Mendoza got the hook). Two coaches were ejected but not the manager. At least one former player took notice. I’m sure the current players did too.

“I love it. We’re fighting. That’s heart, that’s competitiveness, and everything you want from a coach,” Aaron Judge told Braziller about Nevin and Mendoza getting ejected. “We want every single pitch, every single win. That shows me they want the best for us.”

Boone was ejected from Thursday’s game after Kevin Kiermaier left the baseline to avoid a tag and was called safe anyway. It was a halfhearted argument during a pitching change though, not a big spectacle. Then, on Sunday, Boone did nothing despite the costly called strike three to Odor. The coaches had to do it for Boone. It’s real bad look. Fans are desperate for a sign this team cares (of course they do) and can be lifted out of this rut, and yet nothing.

My guess is Boone is seething on the inside even though he maintains the cool uncle persona on the outside. And really, it’s not his fault DJ LeMahieu has turned into Ronald Torreyes or that his first baseman is a 27-year-old rookie or that Odor is his top lefty bat. Part of the manager’s job is to stand up for his players though, and Boone didn’t do it Sunday. His coaches had to do it for him. On a national broadcast against their biggest rival no less. You have to back your players and you have to show you care sometimes, even if it is only performative. Boone failed to do either.

Cole’s spin

Gerrit Cole has labored in two of his last four starts -- he allowed five runs in five innings against the Rangers and Rays, and one run in 13 innings in the two starts in-between -- and following his last start, there was a lot of buzz about his spin rate. Specifically, it was down last time out. Around a 6% decline across the board. Cole’s fastball:

With MLB beginning to crack down on foreign substances, it’s only natural to wonder whether known foreign substance user Gerrit Cole stopped using them (or reduced his use of them) in order to avoid getting caught. Maybe the Yankees were tipped off before his last start that the umpires were looking for foreign substances? I dunno.

“Is it coincidence that Gerrit Cole’s spin rate numbers went down (Thursday) after four minor leaguers got suspended for 10 games?” Josh Donaldson, who has been outspoken against foreign substances, told Dan Hayes (subs. req’d). “Is that possible? I don’t know. Maybe. At the same time, with this situation, they’ve let guys do it.”

“I don’t make much of it,” Boone told Brendan Kuty when asked about Donaldson’s comments. “Gerrit, as well as our staff members, I believe, are mostly above board and they’ll be able to handle the situation in the right kind of way, and it’s not going to affect the kind of pitchers they are.”

Lucas Apostoleris and Max Bay, two people who are much more knowledgeable about spin and its effects than me, say to be careful with single-start spin rates, and note that most pitchers will have games with lower than usual spin each year. It may be that Cole is no longer using the sticky stuff because MLB is cracking down, but one start isn’t enough evidence.

I think at least part of Cole’s recent four-start (really two starts) skid is a simple return to Earth. He was so outrageously good earlier this year, and no one is going to go 61 strikeouts between walks or six starts between homers on the regular. Even with his recent bumps in the road, Cole still leads the American League in FIP (1.90) and K/BB ratio (9.5). He’s been amazing.

With MLB’s foreign substance crackdown underway, I have no doubt Cole will be watched like a hawk going forward. The sticky stuff helps, no doubt, but it’s not a magic pill that turns average pitchers into aces. Lots of guys use it and only a handful are as good as Cole. We’ll keep an eye on his spin going forward. For now, this is a thing to watch rather than a reason to panic.

(I should note Trevor Bauer’s spin rates were down roughly 10% across the board during his start Sunday, when he gave up three runs on six hits and four walks in six innings against the Braves. That lends some credence to the “their spin rates were down because MLB’s crackdown spooked them and they stopped using sticky stuff” theory.)

Taillon’s third time through the order

This will sound like a second guess given the timing, but I thought Jameson Taillon should have been out of Saturday’s game after the fifth inning. It was a game the Yankees really needed to win and getting five scoreless innings against that offense was an excellent outcome. The late inning relievers were rested too. Get Taillon out of there on a positive note, you know?

Instead, Taillon went out for the sixth inning, and the lead vanished. Yes, a non-Miguel Andujar outfielder likely catches the Xander Bogaerts fly ball (.150 expected batting average!), but that should be part of the decision-making process, right? I have a third baseman in left field and an extreme fly ball pitcher (34.9% grounders) about to face the top of a good lineup a third time.

"Right away I jumped off the mound, knowing I missed my spot and that it was maybe a homer off the bat," Taillon told Bryan Hoch about the Bogaerts double. "Then I realized he didn't get all of it. I was just thinking homer, maybe it's an out, then it's a double. There was a lot going on through my head there."

Now 11 starts and 53 innings into his season, we know three things about Taillon. One, he has a great fastball despite “only” mid-90s velocity. He’s still sporting a top five fastball swing-and-miss rate among starters. Two, he’s dominating righties (.222/.254/.389 and .277 wOBA with 9.7 K/BB) and having issues with lefties (.276/.360/.531 and .382 wOBA with 2.2 K/BB).

And three, the third time through the order has been real grind in a limited sample. Here are Taillon’s numbers each time through the lineup:

• First time: .196/.253/.326 (.256 wOBA) with 4.3 K/BB in 99 PA
• Second time: .256/.299/.489 (.336 wOBA) with 5.0 K/BB in 97 PA
• Third time: .417/.517/.833 (.555 wOBA) with 1.4 K/BB in 29 PA

The elite fastball and great numbers the first time through the order suggest Taillon could be a dominant reliever, though it’s too early to pull the plug on him as a starter. The Yankees don’t really have any alternatives anyway, plus the guy is only 53 innings back from his second Tommy John surgery. If you’re not going to be patient with him, then you shouldn’t have traded for him.

Given the circumstances (third time through the order against a great offense, rested bullpen, close game you really need to win), I thought Taillon should’ve been out of the game after five innings, even with only 60 pitches. Of course, Jonathan Loaisiga and Chad Green gave up the yams after Taillon was out of the game, so maybe it wouldn’t have mattered either way.

Point is, I think the decision-making needs to be better. On the most basic level, the manager’s job is to put his players in the best position to succeed, and letting Taillon face the top of the Red Sox lineup a third time wasn’t putting him in the best position to succeed. Boone got greedy there and tried to steal a few outs, and it cost the Yankees.

"When you're playing the Red Sox, a team with a good lineup, it can come down to a couple of pitches in a game," Taillon told Hoch. "By letting those three straight guys get hits with two strikes there, I felt like that was a really big part of the game. Another night of a couple of pitches can really hurt."

Stanton’s workload

It has become painfully obvious the Yankees brought Giancarlo Stanton back without a rehab assignment in a panic move. What else could it be? I understand it, I guess. The offense has been terrible and he’s been no worse than their second best hitter, and I’m sure the Yankees are feeling the heat, so they brought him back and hoped he’d hit the ground running. Nope.

“Struggling to get kind of locked in up there,” Boone told Mark Cannizaro over the weekend. “I thought (Friday) he had some good at bats. Hit the ball hard to third, got the base hit that he smoked to left, and worked the walk. But he’s kind of searching to find it. Hopefully, as he gets more consistent reps here he’ll lock it in.”

Stanton is 2-for-24 (.083) with 12 strikeouts and a 66.7% ground ball rate since returning, and he looks out of whack at the plate. Understandable following a two-week layoff. Also, he hasn’t not played more than two consecutive days since returning. He’s a DH! He really couldn’t play Sunday? There was an off-day Monday and it was about as big as a game gets in June.

If Stanton isn’t ready to play everyday -- again, he’s a DH, and the Yankees have three off-days in the next eight days, so there’s lots of rest coming up -- I get it. It takes time to come back from injuries. But then the Yankees shouldn’t have brought him back when they did. At a minimum, Stanton should’ve gone out on a rehab assignment instead of jumping right back in against MLB pitching.

The roster management has been ridiculous this year. The Yankees have brought guys back without proper rehab assignments (remember Luke Voit’s short rehab?), they’ve played an outfielder at first base (Jay Bruce), a third baseman at short (Gio Urshela), and infielders in the outfield (Andujar and Tyler Wade). What are we even doing here?

Teams tell us less than ever these days, so the smart move is always assuming there’s something going on that we don’t know about when assessing their decisions. I risk sounding dumb because of that, but I’m really struggling to understand how they’ve handled Stanton. He doesn’t appear big league ready, either physically or at the plate. Bringing him back like this screams panic move.

Gittens called up

Welcome to the show, Chris Gittens. The last thing the Yankees need is another high strikeout righty, but the offense has been terrible, and they’re past the point of shrugging their shoulders and saying “we believe in our guys.” Something had (still has) to be done. Maybe Gittens works out, maybe he doesn’t. He’s definitely worth a try though.

"I was shaking a little bit. Not too bad," Gittens told Hoch following his MLB debut Saturday. "I just caught myself taking deep breaths. I treated it like a Spring Training game. That was my mentality. I've been there before. Pretty much the nerves went away when I got a ground ball and a pop fly. But it was great."

Gittens went 0-for-7 with four strikeouts and a walk over the weekend, and the fact he started against righty Garrett Richards on Sunday leads me to believe he’ll play everyday. I thought maybe the Yankees would platoon Gittens with Odor initially. Given the available personnel, I think this is the best possible lineup the Yankees can run out there right now:

1. SS Gleyber Torres
2. CF Aaron Judge
3. DH Giancarlo Stanton
4. 3B Gio Urshela
5. C Gary Sanchez
6. LF Miguel Andujar
7. 2B DJ LeMahieu
8. RF Clint Frazier
9. 1B Chris Gittens

I’m not saying the Yankees will (or even should) do that. I’m just saying that looks to be the best possible lineup given who’s on the roster right now. Judge in center field full-time worries me given his ongoing lower body soreness, and nine righties is hardly ideal, but this is the best the Yankees can do right now. That’s the best the offense is going to get.

Jay Bruce has an extra-base hit more recently than LeMahieu (that’s not true, but be honest, you believed it for a second), and LeMahieu’s been so bad lately (.218/.239/.228 and 49 wRC+ the last 30 days!) that it’s time to get him out of the leadoff spot. Doesn’t have to be permanent. Just until he starts hitting. Torres is the logical leadoff replacement since he’s been hitting, albeit with no power. Maybe Frazier should lead off? He’s walking a ton.

The Yankees badly need someone to come in and be 2000 David Justice. Someone to spark the dead team walking offense and carry the Yankees for a bit. Maybe Gittens can be that guy. Probably not, but at this point, what’s the harm in trying? Yankees first basemen are hitting .167/.267/.249 (50 wRC+) this year. The bar Gittens has to clear to be an upgrade is awfully low.

Odor stinks

Yes, I went for the easy pun. Anyway, it’s time for the Yankees to dump Rougned Odor. I didn’t like the trade and I’ve mostly tolerated him the last few weeks because I try not to let baseball things ruin my day, but this pitch broke me. The swing and miss on a curveball that didn’t even reach the plate Friday night.

Odor’s very presence on the roster is an affront to my fandom given what he represents (the willingness to accept inferior play because he is luxury tax friendly), and he’s just bad. I mean, come on with this:

• Odor in 2021: .180/.266/.342 (73 wRC+)
• Odor from 2017-20: .215/.279/.418 (74 wRC+)

Odor is the same guy he’s always been. He had some big hits in April, which were appreciated, but he’s been so bad the rest of the time that he’s at -0.33 WPA for the season. His defense is nothing special and he offers no versatility. With Mike Ford gone, Odor is now the “it’s not that difficult to upgrade this roster spot, guys” guy. He has no place on a contending team.

Greg Allen returned from his oblique strain over the weekend (1-for-3 with a double plus a pinch-running appearance in two Triple-A games) and the Yankees still need a real backup center fielder, so drop Odor and call up Allen, who can at least platoon with Brett Gardner, and maybe get more at-bats because he’s a switch-hitter. Playing Gardner everyday isn’t working and Judge in center regularly is asking for trouble.

Odor is this era of Yankees baseball personified because every at-bat is a reminder of the luxury tax plan, and because he’s most notable for throwing a punch in May and getting knocked out in October. That is the 2017-20 Yankees in a nutshell. Odor’s upside is limited (his best season is a 107 wRC+) and I don’t see why I should believe he can even get to that level at this point.

I have no reason to think the Yankees will dump Odor. He counts $0 against the luxury tax payroll and that’s so valuable to the Yankees that they parted with three -- three! -- players to get him (here’s where I remind you Odor is under contract next year too). I would just rather see Allen, who better fits the roster as a real backup center fielder.

2. All-Star voting opens. Late last week MLB opened the fan voting for the 2021 All-Star Game starters. Feels late this year, no? Usually they open it so early we make fun of them for opening it so early. Anyway, here’s the ballot. You have until June 24th to vote as many times as your heart desires. Here are my thoughts on the All-Star Game situation.

All-Star Game

At the moment, I see three Yankees’ All-Stars: Aroldis Chapman, Gerrit Cole, and Aaron Judge. Some recent walk issues mean Chapman no longer has a negative FIP (currently 1.40), though he’s still striking out more than half the batters he faces, and he’s among the league leaders in saves. That matters. Chapman’s a no-brainer to me.

Cole is a no-brainer as well. Recent hiccups aside, he’s still top five in basically every significant pitching category, and a strong case can be made he’s been the American League’s best starter this year. It’s either Cole, Shane Bieber, Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, or John Means. Cole’s a clear-cut All-Star. He should be in the conversation to start the game.

Judge is popular enough to win the fan voting and get a starting outfield spot, especially with Mike Trout and Byron Buxton missing several weeks with injuries. I suspect there will be a big fan voting campaign for Adolis Garcia, which is fine. The All-Star Game is a meaningless exhibition and if Rangers fans want to stuff the ballot, let ‘em.

Buxton will begin a rehab assignment this week and Trout could return prior to the All-Star break. That leaves another 7-8 outfield spots for Judge, Garcia, Mark Canha, Teoscar Hernandez, Austin Meadows, Cedric Mullins, Ramon Laureano, and (token Mariner?) Mitch Haniger. Yeah, Judge is a lock, assuming he stays healthy. He has as good a chance as anyone to start.

I don’t think the Yankees have any All-Stars beyond Chapman, Cole, and Judge. Gio Urshela is their next best All-Star candidate and he’s what, the sixth best third baseman in the league behind Alex Bregman, Rafael Devers, Josh Donaldson, Yoan Moncada, and Jose Ramirez? And Gio’s only sixth because Matt Chapman and Anthony Rendon are having down years.

Giancarlo Stanton has stunk since coming back from the quad injury but still owns a 119 wRC+ overall. There are usually only two DHs on the All-Star roster, and Stanton is up against Yordan Alvarez, (token Twin?) Nelson Cruz, J.D. Martinez, and Shohei Ohtani*. I don’t think Stanton makes it and I’m certain he’d rather have that week off than go to another All-Star Game.

* MLB will screw this up, or maybe the workload simply won’t allow it, but baseball needs to get Shohei Ohtani into the Home Run Derby, then have him pitch and hit in the All-Star Game. Otherwise what are we even doing here?

DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres aren’t having All-Star seasons. Non-closer relievers like Jonathan Loaisiga always have an uphill battle to make the All-Star Game (Chad Green’s meltdown Saturday pretty much closes the book on his All-Star chances). Maybe Domingo German? A 3.12 ERA won’t ever look out of place in the All-Star Game, underlying numbers be damned (4.54 FIP and 4.05 DRA).

Unless someone gets molten hot these next few weeks (specifically Stanton or Torres), it’s looking like three All-Stars for the Yankees this year, which would be their fewest since 2016 (Carlos Beltran, Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller). Fine with me. Part of me wants to see Chapman, Cole, and Judge in the All-Star Game, but I’d also be cool with seeing them sit on the bench all game rather than risk injury or wear and tear.

Home Run Derby

MLB surely wants a Yankee in the Home Run Derby for marketing purposes, though Judge and Stanton have said they’re not doing it again, and Luke Voit’s been hurt all year. MLB often has to resort to dragging random players to the Home Run Derby, so maybe Gary Sanchez? Or Chris Gittens? That would be fun given his power, though Gittens is not a household name, nor is he a lock to be in the MLB roster come July.

Judge and Sanchez in 2017 were the last Yankees to participate in the Home Run Derby and I don’t see that changing this year. No one seems to want to do it. That’s too bad. I’d love to see Judge, Sanchez, Stanton, or even Gittens taking their hacks in a Home Run Derby at Coors Field. The Home Run Derby is a spectacle and few players in the game hit the ball like them.

Futures Game

MLB ditched the USA vs. World format for the Futures Game two years ago and now it’s just AL vs. NL, which is smart. Players can’t change their home country but they can change leagues, so it potentially adds a little variety to it. Deivi Garcia started the Futures Game for the American League two years ago. He was the Yankees’ only Futures Gamer that year.

Jasson Dominguez is the Yankees’ best prospect, but there is no precedent for an 18-year-old kid with zero professional games playing in the Futures Game. Maybe he’ll be the first to do it! Why not? It’s a showcase and Dominguez is as hyped as any Yankees prospect in recent memory. Getting a look at the mysterious never before seen prospect would be neat.

The Yankees would presumably hold Garcia out of the Futures Game in case he’s needed in the big leagues. In that case, I see three realistic Futures Game candidates: Estevan Florial, Oswald Peraza, and Anthony Volpe. Shortstop is always a stacked position, so it’ll be tough to crack, though I think Peraza and Volpe are recognizable enough names and performing well. I think they’re the two most obvious choices. Florial could be held out for MLB availability reasons.

Beyond those three, you have the Luises (Gil and Medina), and I guess Austin Wells, but he’s not exactly ripping it up so far this year. Ezequiel Duran is a Futures Game sleeper. I know the Yankees love Duran and I could see them pushing for him to make it. One (or maybe two) of Gil, Medina, Peraza, and Volpe is my guess. I’ll go with Peraza as their lone Futures Gamer.

3. 2021 draft prospect: Nebraska RHP/SS Spencer Schwellenbach. The 2021 MLB Draft will take place during the All-Star break and J.J. Cooper (subs. req’d) reports MLB has informed teams the draft will be 20 rounds, the minimum number allowed under last year’s March agreement. The Yankees hold the No. 20 pick. Here is our 2021 draft prospect coverage archive.

Schwellenbach turned 21 last week and is one of the best two-way players in the country. He did not sign with Cleveland as their 34th round pick out of high school in 2018, and an elbow injury he suffered that year kept him off the mound until this spring. Schwellenbach has allowed two earned runs in 27 relief innings with 30 strikeouts and only six walks.

The elbow injury didn’t prevent Schwellenbach from playing shortstop. He hit .281/.370/.394 in 59 games during his freshman and (pandemic-shortened) sophomore seasons, and this spring he owns a .291/.413/.474 line with six home runs in 215 plate appearances. Schwellenbach hit .356/.462/.448 in 22 games in the wood bat Northwoods League last summer.

MLB.com ranks Schwellenbach as the No. 53 prospect in the draft class and Baseball America (subs. req’d) has him at No. 71. Here’s video of Schwellenbach hitting and pitching, and here’s a chunk of MLB.com’s scouting report:

(He’s shown) the makings of three plus pitches. He strolls in from shortstop at the end of games and unleashes 94-97 mph fastballs that have peaked at 99, low-80s sliders and mid-80s changeups with power sink. He commands all three offerings well with a simple delivery and definitely has the look of a starter, though it's unclear if he could handle that workload … (At the plate his) biggest backers see him as an improving right-handed hitter who generates huge exit velocities and flashes plus running times, while others see his bat, power and speed as more ordinary. He obviously has a strong arm, and while he has a good internal clock at shortstop, the consensus is that his range is more suited for second or third base.

For what it’s worth, Jim Callis recently connected the Yankees to Schwellenbach and says they prefer him as a shortstop. The obvious comp for a two-way college player who mostly plays shortstop but looks like he had a chance to start is Jacob deGrom, though that’s an unrealistic expectation to put on anyone. deGrom hit on his best case scenario.

Shohei Ohtani is a unicorn and I feel like the future of two-way players rests on his shoulders. If he can’t make it work as talented as he is, no one can do it, and teams won’t even bother to try. As things stand, there are no real two-way prospects in the minors. I’m not sure anyone sees Schwellenbach as a legitimate two-way prospect. It’s likely one or the other for him.

Because hitting is so rhythm-based, it’s historically easier to go back to pitching following a long layoff than it is to go back to hitting. That’s part of what made Rick Ankiel’s success so notable. So, based on that, you send Schwellenbach out as a shortstop, and if it doesn’t work out, you can always put him back on the mound. The other way around has less of a chance to work.

The Yankees know more than me, but Schwellenbach sounds more appealing as a pitcher given the “makings of three plus pitches” and the fact he “commands all three offerings well.” Exit velocity is nice, but his 20.0% strikeout rate this spring is a bit high for a college guy likely to go in the top two rounds. Maybe that improves as he focuses on hitting full-time, but I dunno.

Based on the rankings, Schwellenbach would be a reach at No. 20, though he could be in play for the Yankees’ second round pick (No. 55). The two-way thing is a novelty more than a legitimate career path, though at least it gives him a fallback plan. I’d be curious to see what he could do when he focuses on pitching full-time. It seems the Yankees prefer Schwellenbach at short.

4. Remembering a random Yankee: Karim Garcia. Who is Karim Garcia? Our next random Yankee, of course. He comes by request and had a long, well-traveled career. Here’s the random Yankee archive. You can find links back to everyone we've covered there.

Garcia originally signed with the Dodgers as a 16-year-old international amateur free agent out of Mexico in July 1992. Two High-A seasons and one Triple-A season later, Garcia was in the big leagues. He debuted at 19 years and 308 days old on Sept. 2nd, 1995. At the time, he was the youngest player in MLB, and he went 4-for-20 (.200) during his cup of coffee.

From 1996-97, Garcia hit .301/.356/.581 with 33 homers in 155 Triple-A games, and Baseball America (subs. req’d) ranked him the game’s No. 7 prospect in 1996. He was one spot behind Derek Jeter and two spots ahead of Vladimir Guerrero. Despite that, Garcia appeared in only 16 games with the Dodgers those two years, going 5-for-40 (.125).

In Nov. 1997, the Diamondbacks selected Garcia with the No. 9 pick in the expansion draft, and he was the club’s most of the time right fielder during their inaugural 1998 season. Garcia, then 22, hit the second home run in franchise history (video), and authored a .222/.260/.381 batting line with nine home runs in 354 plate appearances that year.

Arizona wanted to contend as quickly as possible, so following that 1998 season, they sent Garcia to the Tigers for Luis Gonzalez in a one-for-one trade. Gonzalez went on to become one of the greatest D’Backs ever, and Garcia lasted only a year and a half in Detroit before being sent to the Orioles in a cash trade in June 2000. Baltimore released him after the season.

At age 25 and with a career .217/.261/.377 batting line, Garcia signed a minor league deal with Cleveland in Dec. 2000, and spent most of 2001 in Triple-A, hitting .264/.326/.517 with 31 home runs in 125 games. He went 14-for-45 (.311) with five home runs as a Sept. callup, though it wasn’t enough to save his roster spot in 2002. Cleveland released Garcia that Spring Training.

The Yankees signed Garcia to a minor league contract on April 2nd, 2002, and he played well enough with Triple-A Columbus, hitting .271/.316/.472 with 12 homers in 74 games. He was brought up to the big leagues for a quick two-game cameo in late June, during which he went 1-for-5. The Yankees released Garcia on July 2nd.

Garcia returned to Cleveland on another minor league deal later that month and spent most of the rest of the season in the big leagues, hitting .299/.317/.584 with 16 homers in 51 games. That was enough to earn Garcia the right field job in 2003, though the 2002 performance was a mirage. He hit .194/.238/.366 in 24 games before Cleveland cut bait.

On June 25th, 2003, the Yankees reacquired Garcia from Cleveland in a trade that also brought righty reliever Dan Miceli to the Bronx. They sent cash the other way. “Both Miceli and Garcia, we feel, are upgrades for Joe (Torre) in terms of choices over what's already here,” Brian Cashman told Tyler Kepner following the trade.

The Yankees initially played Garcia in left field (Hideki Matsui moved over to center while Bernie Williams was injured), then moved him into a fourth outfielder’s role once Bernie returned and after trading Raul Mondesi* to the Rangers for David Dellucci and Bret Prinz at the deadline. Dellucci didn’t hit at all though (.176/.263/.255 as a Yankee), clearing the way for Garcia to get more at-bats.

* Mondesi’s tenure is one of the wildest in recent Yankees memory. The Yankees initially acquired him because George Steinbrenner heard Tim McCarver say they needed a right fielder “like Raul Mondesi” to replace Paul O’Neill during a national broadcast in 2002, and they traded him away because he left the stadium after being lifted for a pinch-hitter in 2003.

By mid August the Yankees were using Garcia and Juan Rivera in a right field platoon, and they were great! Rivera hit .340/.358/.660 against lefties that season and Garcia hit .321/.357/.489 against righties as a Yankee. That includes Garcia’s 13-for-30 (.433) hot streak in his first eight games in pinstripes, and an 11-for-33 (.333) hot streak to finish the regular season.

Rather than stick with the Garcia/Rivera platoon in the postseason, Torre went for defense, and started Rivera in all four ALDS games against the Twins (to be fair, Johan Santana started two of the four games). "I don't think anybody took (the right field job) and ran with it,” Torre told Kepner when asked about the decision to go with Rivera over Garcia.

The Red Sox had four righties in their 2003 postseason rotation (John Burkett, Derek Lowe, Pedro Martinez, Tim Wakefield), and after Rivera went 0-for-2 in the ALCS Game 1 loss to Wakefield, Torre went back to Garcia. Garcia went 0-for-4 in Game 2, then had exactly one hit in each of Games 3-7. He went 4-for-16 (.250) in the series overall.

The 2003 ALCS is hardly notable for Garcia’s performance at the plate. There’s the Aaron Boone homer, of course, plus the Pedro-Don Zimmer brawl in Game 3. The brawl happened after Matsui doubled to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning, and Martinez threw his next pitch behind Garcia’s head. Garcia singled in a run earlier in the game.

“If he threw at my shoulder or something, I'd have no problem with that,” Garcia told Bill Finley, adding he slid hard at second baseman Todd Walker on a double play ball later in the inning as retaliation. “I was very upset with him because he did that, because he threw at my head. When you throw at someone's head, you are messing with their career and I don't approve of that.”

“Karim Garcia, who's Karim Garcia?” Pedro famously said after the game. “I have no respect for that guy. I don't have anything to prove to that guy. He needs to be forcing himself to come up to where I am, to my level. When you talk about (Derek) Jeter, Bernie Williams, Paul O'Neill, guys like that that you really tip your hat, that you can understand. But guys like Karim Garcia, what? So what? Who are you? Who are you Karim Garcia to try to test Pedro Martinez, a proven player for 10 years? That's what I don't understand. Why would I hit Karim Garcia?”

Roger Clemens threw up and in at Manny Ramirez the next inning and all hell broke loose. The benches cleared, Pedro threw Zimmer to the ground, and later in the game a groundskeeper stationed in the Yankees bullpen got into a fight with Jeff Nelson (really). Garcia jumped the wall to help Nelson, and had to exit the game with a cut on his hand. Here’s video of all the carnage. Amazingly, no one was ejected from the game.

''You don't know how many people are going to be jumping the fence from the other side,'' Garcia told Finley about the bullpen brawl, while also admitting he pushed the groundskeeper. ''There wasn't that much security out there at that point. So, any way I can help my teammate, I'm going to do it every time.''

Garcia, Nelson, and the groundskeeper were all charged with assault and battery, and Garcia and Nelson later accepted plea deals that included six months probation and 50 hours community service. The groundskeeper also sued Garcia and Nelson for $33,000 to cover medical bills and lost wages. "We didn't treat them any differently -- better or worse," assistant attorney general David Fredette told the Associated Press about the case.

Back on the field, the Yankees beat the Red Sox in the ALCS, and Garcia started five of the six World Series games against the Marlins. He went 4-for-14 (.286) in the series. All told, Garcia hit .305/.342/.457 with six homers in 161 regular season plate appearances with the Yankees in 2003, and he went 8-for-30 (.267) in 10 postseason games, the only postseason action of his MLB career.

The Yankees non-tendered Garcia after the season -- he was non-tendered the day after the assault and battery charges were officially filed -- and he signed with the Mets in Jan. 2004. Garcia split 2004 between the Mets and Orioles, hitting .229/.265/.388 in 275 plate appearances overall. That was his age 28 season and he never played in MLB again.

Garcia spent 2005-06 with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan, 2007 with Sultanes de Monterrey in the Mexican League, 2008-10 with the Lotte Giants in Korea, and 2011-16 with various teams in the Mexican League. At age 40 in 2016, Garcia hit .253/.278/.352 in Mexico. He also played in the 2006, 2009, and 2013 World Baseball Classics. All told, Garcia played 24 years in pro ball.

5. Rapid fire thoughts. Buster Olney has more on MLB’s foreign substance crackdown. It is expected umpires will check pitchers randomly when they leave the mound (during a commercial break to avoid slowing the game down), and the potential punishment is a 10-day suspension without pay. Like the Steroid Era, MLB is going to employ the “make the players the public face of cheating after we ignored the problem for decades” strategy, and, also like the Steroid Era, players will move on to cheating in other ways. It is the way of the world. Olney also says the league will give umpires scouting reports, like watch this guy’s belt or that guy’s glove, which is mildly interesting. No idea how this will go, but chances are this will have unintended consequences like everything else MLB does (MLB probably loves Josh Donaldson taking shots at Gerrit Cole as Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations get underway, they want a fractured union) … And finally, third base coach Phil Nevin has rejoined the Yankees following his COVID absence. He missed his son Tyler’s MLB debut with the Orioles while quarantined -- “Not to be able to see him right after the game, now that part, that gets you a little bit, because we’ve talked about it for so long,” he told Ron Blum -- and said he was diagnosed with a bacterial infection in his kidneys and a staph infection. Nevin is asthmatic and doctors said the vaccine kept the virus out of his lungs. “I was just told it would probably have not been a very good outcome as far as the healing process,” he told Blum. The vaccine won’t keep the virus out of your body, but it will help save your life. Get a jab if you haven’t already.

(Send your requests for Tuesday's random Yankee series and questions for Friday's mailbag to RABmailbag at gmail dot com.)