May 18th, 2021: Stanton, Sanchez, Loaisiga, Montgomery, Kepler

I can’t remember the last time I had this little confidence in a Yankees offense. Maybe 2013? Jordan Lyles objectively stinks and last night he had no real trouble with the Yankees, a team that has scored 22 runs in their last eight games against the Not Orioles. Won’t be too long until Aaron Judge gets nothing to hit with the injuries piling up. The Yankees are on pace to go 87-75 with 121 games remaining. To today’s thoughts.

1. Stanton’s injury. Giancarlo Stanton was scratched from Thursday’s series finale in Tampa with a left quad strain and he did not play all weekend against the Orioles, then yesterday the Yankees put him on the 10-day injured list. Aaron Boone repeatedly described it as a day-to-day injury, though Boone has long had a thing for downplaying injuries.

“Hopeful that -- especially when we can backdate a few days -- that coming out of the off-day we’ll be alright, and hopefully just put this behind us entirely,” Boone told the Associated Press yesterday. “As much as he wants to be out there, I think he also realized that if it’s something he pushed through, it could turn into a longer term situation.”

The move is retroactive to Thursday, so Stanton could return as soon as Tuesday (technically Monday, but that’s an off-day). That said, quad strains can linger (Giancarlo was hampered by a quad problem that turned into a Grad 2 strain during the 2019 postseason) and Stanton doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to returning on schedule, so we’ll see.

Stanton has been no worse than the team’s second best hitter this season (.282/.347/.534 and 145 wRC+) and the Yankees still aren’t anywhere close to firing on all cylinders offensively (22nd in runs per game), so this is a significant blow. One player comes back (Luke Voit) and two others go down (Stanton and Aaron Hicks). It’s annoying. Annoying yet far too common.

Given Aaron Judge’s vague and ongoing lower body soreness, I’m guessing he’ll spend a good deal of time at DH this week, especially on the turf in Texas. Albert Abreu was sent down following last night’s game, indicating Rougned Odor will be back tonight. I could see the regular lineup looking like this while Stanton and Gleyber Torres are out:

1. 3B DJ LeMahieu
2. 1B Luke Voit
3. DH Aaron Judge
4. SS Gio Urshela
5. 2B Rougned Odor
6. C Gary Sanchez
7. RF Clint Frazier
8. LF Miguel Andujar
9. CF Brett Gardner

Should Stanton miss significant time, it might be time to give Chris Gittens a shot, and see whether he can be a late blooming masher a la Voit. Gittens is 10-for-31 (.323) with four home runs and more walks (12) than strikeouts (eight) through 11 Triple-A games, plus he’s an exit velocity monster. He’s hitting and the DH spot is open. This is when you’d use him.

I’m an Andujar guy and I badly want the Yankees to keep him in the lineup and let him play without him having to worry about every 0-for-4 becoming a ticket back to Scranton, but I’m not counting on it. Mike Ford has done nothing to warrant a lineup spot the last two years and neither has Odor the last five years, though it’s pretty clear he’s going to play once healthy.

If this is truly a one-week thing and Stanton can return as soon as he’s eligible, then great, the Yankees can manage the next few days. If this is a longer term thing, then giving Gittens a look has to be on the table. Maybe he strikes out 35% of the time while running into a few mistakes like Chris Carter, or maybe he’s a more complete hitter than expected and the next Nelson Cruz. At some point you have to find out, right?

I hope Stanton can return soon but I am not optimistic given his health track record. He tends to stay hurt when he gets hurt, and have one injury lead to another. When Stanton’s healthy, he mashes, but he just isn’t healthy often enough. The Yankees have kept him out of the outfield and he changed his offseason workouts, and yet here's another lower body soft tissue injury. So it goes.

“I don’t have that answer,” Boone told Ken Davidoff when asked about Stanton’s inability to stay on the field. “He obviously is in very good shape. He works hard, takes care of himself. He has had, over the years, these things pop up. In his case, we try to take things more conservatively, because of that history.”

2. Weekend thoughts. After Sunday’s loss to the Orioles, the Yankees are 1-6 in series finales when they have a chance to sweep this year and they’ve been outscored 41-20 in those seven games. Winning two of three every series is great! That’s a 108-win pace. But maybe finish a sweep once in a while and assert your dominance? Could be cool. Some thoughts after the weekend.

Gary’s adjustment

Three home runs for Gary Sanchez in his last eight games. He’s not tearing the cover off the ball or anything (6-for-29 in those nine games), but he’s hitting for power and getting on base (five walks), which is all anyone could want offensively from their catcher.

“There’s a lot of underlying things that suggest he’s ready to really bust out,” Aaron Boone told Zach Braziller two weeks ago. “He’s walking more, he’s chasing less. He’s making better swing decisions. For Gary, it’s just getting to that point of now combining the quality swing decisions, getting on base a little bit more with now unleashing that good A swing when he gets a pitch to hammer. We know that’s in there.”

Eight games spread across two weeks isn’t much and as much as I want to believe, I’m not going to say Sanchez is about to go on a tear. I do want to note he appears to have made a few adjustments at the plate. Here are the before and after looks. That’s April 29th on the left and this past Sunday on the right (GIF link):

Gary is more closed at the plate. In fact, you can see him take a step to close up Sunday. He’s been doing that consistently the last few games (here’s a different game). Also, Sanchez’s leg kick is shorter now. His front foot lands in the same frame (the GIFs are synced up at the frame the pitcher releases the ball), but he started his leg kick a bit earlier last month, and his foot kinda hung there for a moment.

What does it all mean? Well, it means Sanchez is trying to make adjustments to get right at the plate, so that’s good, otherwise it means not a whole lot right now. I write about this stuff often enough to know players tweak things all the time and that not every tweak leads to improvement (most don’t, I’d say). Still, this stood out to me and I thought I’d mention it. We’ll see where it goes.

The Yankees have stuck with their five-pitcher personal catcher system this last week, so much so that Sanchez caught a day game Sunday after the night game Saturday because Domingo German and Jordan Montgomery are “his” guys. It’s working (I think?), so they’ll stick with it. If Gary starts hitting even a little bit though, he has to get more starts, because Kyle Higashioka’s play has deteriorated since his playing time increased.

Loaisiga’s new pitch mix

Jonathan Loaisiga has been a revelation this year, throwing 21.2 mostly high leverage innings with a 2.49 ERA (3.32 FIP). The 23.5% strikeout rate is a bit underwhelming, but the 4.7% walk rate and 59.6% ground ball rate are excellent. He’s emerged as a second trusted righty setup option alongside Chad Green. It’s been awesome.

The Loaisiga we saw in the past worked primarily with a four-seam fastball and a curveball, with a few changeups mixed in. This year he’s doing it with a sinking two-seamer and a changeup. Elevated four-seamers and pitching north-south is all the rage these days. Loaisiga went the other way. He’s pitching down in the zone and east-west with sinkers and changeups, and it’s working.

“I just think he understands who he is out on the mound,” Boone told Kristie Ackert last month. “I think he’s challenging the strike zone a lot, the two-seam fastball to go with the changeup has become a really effective mix. He’s mixing in enough breaking balls, his sinker-changeup combination. I think the confidence he’s pitching with out there in some high leverage spots, it’s been fun to see him take this next step.”

The Yankees have also moved Loaisiga on the mound slightly. He used to pitch all the way on the third base side of the rubber. Now he’s closer to the middle of the rubber. The Yankees have not played in Fenway Park yet, so we don’t have any good camera angles that show Loaisiga’s position on the mound ...

… but I promise you he has moved to the middle of the pitching rubber. Here are his average horizontal release points by year (zero is the center of the rubber and negative means the ball is released on the third base side). You can see Loaisiga’s shift on the rubber there.

Moving on the rubber is all about angles. Now that he’s throwing sinkers and changeups, two pitches that run in on righties and away from lefties, delivering the ball closer to the middle of the rubber allows Loaisiga to throw more strikes. Release them closer to third base and they run off the plate. Now they’re starting down the middle and moving to the corners. It also better helps him get the ball in on lefties and outside to righties.

Loaisiga turned 26 over the winter but is still very inexperienced for a pitcher that age. He has only 177.1 career minor league innings to his credit, and he’s spent the last few years as a spot starter type with the Yankees. Loaisiga has had to do a lot of learning on the fly, and it looks like he’s putting it together. Development is not linear, and talented players are worth waiting on.

Montgomery and an opener

It might be time to pair Jordan Montgomery with an opener. It doesn’t have to be permanent, but his first inning problems can no longer be ignored. He’s made 18 starts the last two years with a 4.94 ERA (3.92 FIP) overall, which is a heck of a lot closer to bad than good. The splits:

• First inning: 7.13 ERA (4.64 FIP)
• All other innings: 4.37 ERA (3.74 ERA)

“I’ve been having issues with (first inning runs) forever,” Montgomery said earlier this month. “I’m kind of sick of not being as good as I should be out there. With the spring I had, I was feeling really good. I just know I can be better. I’m trying to do that.”

I’m glad Montgomery is “kind of sick of not being as good as I should be out there,” but that is the Jordan Montgomery story. There are enough flashes to make you believe he can be a reliable starter on a contender, but the end results are closer to a No. 4-5 type who can help get you through the regular season, and you hope you don’t need him in the postseason.

Sunday’s start was dreadful. The Yankees staked Montgomery to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and a 5-2 lead in the third, and he couldn’t pitch into the fourth against a last place Orioles team. Six of his eight baserunners reached in two-strike counts and six of the eight reached with two outs. He just couldn’t finish at-bats or innings against a bad team. Blah.

Montgomery’s next start will be against the White Sox, the highest scoring team in baseball, and a team with a very right-handed lineup that chews up lefties. These were Chicago’s numbers before tagging old buddy J.A. Happ for six runs in 3.2 innings last night:

• vs. RHP: .249/.336/.383 (108 wRC+)
• vs. LHP: .293/.373/.480 (141 wRC+)

Skipping Montgomery against Chicago should be on the table (Montgomery and Deivi Garcia are on the same schedule, so plugging him would be easy), but I don’t expect it to happen, so at the very least give him an opener. Start Chad Green against the top of that righty heavy lineup, and hope Montgomery can get you through the next four innings unscathed.

LaMarre replaces Hicks

The Yankees weren’t going to wait long for Aaron Hicks’ wrist to respond to treatment, so when it didn’t appreciably improve after 48 hours, the Yankees put him on the injured list Saturday. Up came journeyman Ryan LaMarre to replace Hicks, though Brett Gardner is going to be the most of the time center fielder in the interim, as he should when the alternative is Ryan LaMarre.

“He’s doing better. It’s less pain and stuff in there, I think as a result of the medicine, but when he tried to swing from even both sides of the plate today, it wasn’t what we were looking for and he was looking for,” Boone told Betelhem Ashame over the weekend. “... You’re going to have some attrition along the way and you’re going to have some guys go down, and it creates an opportunity for someone else to step up.”

LaMarre was called up because Greg Allen is hurt (Conor Foley says he’s dealing with soreness in his side) and Derek Dietrich can’t play center field. Estevan Florial has barely played above High-A ball and isn’t ready to play full-time in the big leagues, and shouldn’t sit on the bench. I think he should be in Double-A. Triple-A will have to do for now, but he shouldn’t be in MLB.

“We want him to play and continue to gain experience,” Boone told Dan Martin. “We know his ceiling, but looking at the situation we’re in in 2021, with the things going on, being on (the 40-man) roster, he’s in play. That said, we have to strike the balance of, we want him to play and develop, but also it’s a situation if we feel like we need it or he can help us, we’ll consider that.”

The Yankees needed to replace Hicks with someone who can play center field, so LaMarre it is. He is a temporary solution until Hicks returns or someone better comes along, and it’s entirely possible that means until the younger, switch-hitting Allen is healthy. The 40-man is not a worry (LaMarre took Jay Bruce’s spot and can be dropped for Allen). This isn’t a long-term thing.

Going on the injured list doesn’t mean Hicks is definitely heading for surgery. Surgery would end his season, so the Yankees will see whether his wrist improves over the next few weeks. There is no sense in rushing into surgery when it’s going to end your season either way. That said, I don’t expect Hicks to return this year. Adding a center fielder is now the No. 1 priority.

(I thought the Yankees might claim Braden Bishop on waivers, but nope. The Giants claimed him yesterday and they’re dead last on the waiver priority list, so the Yankees and every other team passed. Bishop can’t hit but he’s an outstanding defensive center fielder. The Mariners designated him for assignment when they called up top prospect Jarred Kelenic last week.)

3. Trade target: Max Kepler. At 13-26, the Twins have the worst record in baseball (yes, worse than the Tigers) and they’ve been the most disappointing team in the sport this year. I guess their North American pro sports record 18-game postseason losing streak won’t be extended this year, at least. Look at their postseason odds. This is brutal (and it’s only been 39 games):

With the slow start comes speculation the Twins could sell at the July 20th trade deadline. They have several veterans coming up on free agency (Nelson Cruz, J.A. Happ, Michael Pineda, Andrelton Simmons) and they’d be foolish to keep them should this slow start continue. The club says they’re not ready to sell yet, but what are they supposed to say in mid May?

“I just don’t think we’re there yet,” GM Thad Levine told Dan Hayes (subs. req’d) last week. “I don’t think we’re having any of those internal contemplations yet because we’re so focused on doing whatever we can to support the team to head in the right direction. We understand the calendar and when decisions have to be made, but we’re not to the point where there’s serious dialogue on that front.”

The rental veterans will appeal to many contenders, but I want to talk about Kepler, a non-rental who could interest the Yankees in the wake of Aaron Hicks’ wrist injury (and Giancarlo Stanton’s quad injury). Kepler would give the Yankees a lefty bat with some pop and another center field capable body for this year and the next few years as well. Let’s break it down.

Is he good?

Not this year, no, but he has been good the last few years. Kepler turned 28 in February, so he’s right smack in his prime, and he’s two years removed from a rocket ball-aided 36 home runs. He walks a bunch and he doesn’t strike out excessively either. Here are Kepler’s last few seasons (here's some video):

Kepler’s top end exit velocity is very good, so when he gets into a pitch, he’ll really launch it. He has two drawbacks, offensively: Kepler hits a ton of infield popups and he pulls a ton of ground balls into the shift. Those are BABIP killers, hence his middling batting average. 190 players have at least 1,000 plate appearances since 2018. The bottom of the BABIP leaderboard:

1. Gary Sanchez: .211 BABIP
2. Albert Pujols: .237 BABIP
3. Max Kepler: .238 BABIP
4. Edwin Encarnacion: .241 BABIP
5. Hunter Renfroe: .242 BABIP

Now that he’s 2,500+ plate appearances into his career, I’m inclined to say Kepler is what he is. You can dream on swing changes turned him into a higher BABIP hitter and thus a more complete hitter, but a) it’s easier said than done, and b) I’m sure the Twins tried that already. It feels like Kepler has more to give, though what he is already is pretty good.

Defensively, Kepler grades out as an excellent right fielder and a good center fielder. The Twins frequently play him in center when Byron Buxton is hurt (like now). Kepler has never played left field in his MLB career, though I’m guessing he wouldn’t have much trouble sliding over. He’s also a good runner with a much better than average extra-base taken rate.

Three-year ZiPS projections peg Kepler as a true talent .250/.330/.480 type who socks 25 home runs and approaches +3 WAR once you factor in defense. That’s a damn good player. Maybe the short porch helps him get to 30 homers consistently? That would be cool. Kepler is a good (not great) hitter who fits in the No. 6 or 7 (or 8) spot in a contender’s lineup.

What’s his contract status?

The Twins signed Kepler to a five-year extension worth $35 million in Feb. 2019. Without that, he would have become a free agent after next season. Here’s what’s left on the deal:

• 2021: $6.5M
• 2022: $6.75M
• 2023: $8.5M
• 2024: $10M club option ($1M buyout)
• $7M luxury tax hit from 2021-23 and $9M luxury tax hit in 2024 if option is exercised

Luxury tax hits are prorated for in-season additions, so trade for Kepler at the deadline and his luxury tax hit is only $2.3M or so the rest of the year. Justin Wilson is out of favor and could be included in a deal to offset salary a la Tyler Clippard in 2017. That would knock about $850,000 off the books. Dunno if the Twins would want Wilson, but I reckon some other team would.

The Yankees have about $5M to spend under the luxury tax threshold. Kepler would be a tight squeeze, but they could make it work. The Yankees and Twins are frequent trade partners (Hicks, Jaime Garcia, Lance Lynn) and Minnesota ate money to facilitate the Garcia and Lynn trades. Could the Yankees get them to do it again to make Kepler work under the luxury tax threshold? (It's ridiculous this even has to be considered.)

What will it take?

Trade for Kepler at the deadline and you’re getting him for at least three postseason runs and potentially a fourth thanks to the club option. Here are two recent deals involving outfielders with four postseason runs worth of team control or contractual obligation:

• Tommy Pham (3.5 years control): Traded with international bonus money for two top 15 team prospects (Genesis Cabrera, Justin Williams) and a non-top 30 team prospect (Roel Ramirez)
• Nick Swisher (4 years control): Traded with a fringe top 30 team prospect (Kanekoa Texeira) for an MLB role player (Wilson Betemit), and two top 20 team prospects (Jeff Marquez, Johnny Nunez)

The Swisher trade was a masterstroke and repeating that with Kepler would be ideal. The Twins are smart though, plus Swisher was out of favor with the White Sox (manager Ozzie Guillen hated him), lowering his trade value. The Yankees smartly bought low on a talented player. A Swisher style trade would be the dream scenario, but Kepler is not out of favor with the Twins. Alas.

The Pham trade fits pretty well though. Pham was a good player with the Cardinals who flashed greatness on occasion, and at worst, he was a productive player on both sides of the ball who was being paid well below his actual worth. That fits Kepler perfectly. A productive player on both sides of the ball who is very affordable for the next three and a half seasons.

The Rays had a top farm system at the time of the Pham trade, so getting two top 15 prospects from that organization was a pretty good haul. The Yankees’ equivalent to the Pham package is something like Luis Gil (Cabrera), Estevan Florial (Williams), and a spare part Double-A arm (Ramirez). Two very good prospects and a third piece is appropriate based on Pham.

When the Twins sold at the 2018 deadline, they diversified their return. They dealt Lynn, Brian Dozier, Zach Duke, Eduardo Escobar, and Ryan Pressly for 12 players. Three were spare part big leaguers (Tyler Austin, Chase DeJong, Logan Forsythe), five were in rookie or Single-A ball, and the other four were in Double-A. Some immediate help, some long-term help.

I don’t think the Twins will completely throw in the towel and rebuild. Why would they? This has been a bad season, sure, but Josh Donaldson has two more years remaining on his contract, Buxton is under control next year, Kenta Maeda and Jose Berrios are a few years away from free agency, so on and so forth. The AL Central should be winnable in 2022.

Because of that, the Twins may not want to trade Kepler for far away prospects, and could seek more MLB ready pieces. The Yankees are trying to win and may not want to trade close to MLB players, though I don’t think it would be a total dealbreaker at this point. I mean, they dumped Thairo Estrada to get Rougned Odor. They’ll do it if they like the player enough.

Why would the Twins trade him?

As noted, the AL Central is winnable and the Twins could be in the race again next year, and in that case, why would they trade Kepler? Two reasons, I think. One, he could fetch a nice return and improve their roster elsewhere. Also, Kepler’s trade value may never be higher than it is right now, so it would be a classic sell high (or sell appropriately) scenario.

And two, the Twins are deep in corner outfielders. Recent first rounders and top prospects Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach have made their MLB debuts this year (Kirilloff technically debuted last postseason) and are the futures in left and right, respectively. Trading Kepler and plugging in those guys is an easy, natural move. The Twins would be dealing from a position of depth.

Does he fit the Yankees?

I think so. First and foremost, Kepler would give the Yankees a power lefty bat, something they sorely lack. He could play center field this year, then move over to left field next year seeing how Clint Frazier is playing his way out of the organization. And who knows, maybe Kepler takes over in right field in two years, after Aaron Judge becomes a free agent.

I don’t love adding another low batting average hitter to the lineup, but basically everyone is a low batting average hitter these days, and Kepler does enough other things (power, defense, baserunning, save money) to be a positive contributor. He’s not a difference-maker or a guy who can put you over the top. He would not be out of place on a World Series contender though.

Kepler’s bat fits the lineup, his defense would address short and long-term outfield needs, and the money works. And you know what? If Frazier gets his act together, there’s room on the roster for him and Kepler going forward. There’s no such thing as too many good players and Kepler is a good all-around player. He’d make the Yankees better, so yes, he absolutely fits.

4. Minor league thoughts. Deivi Garcia’s first Triple-A start: seven walks in 3.1 innings. Deivi Garcia’s next two Triple-A starts: two walks in 10 innings. 16 strikeouts too. That’ll work. I’m a bit surprised the Yankees stayed on rotation and are not using a spot sixth starter to give everyone an extra day at some point during this 13 games in 13 days stretch. Another 13 games in 13 days stretch begins next Tuesday. I bet we see Garcia at some point during those 13 days … Oswaldo Peraza came into the season with five home runs in 710 career plate appearances. He has five homers in 54 plate appearances already this year. That includes homers in three straight at-bats (spanning two games) at one point, including this one against top Orioles prospect Grayson Rodriguez. The scouting report on Peraza says he puts up big exit velocities for a kid his age (20) and size (6-foot-0 and 165 lbs.), but he put the ball on the ground too often to turn that exit velocity into extra-base hits. Sure seems like he’s starting to elevate the ball now. Peraza with power is a top 100 prospect, easy …  Rough start to the season for Josh Breaux. My No. 24 prospect is 7-for-45 (.156) with 19 strikeouts in 11 High-A games. Breaux reportedly made strides with his defense last year and I haven’t heard any updates yet, but hopefully he picks it up with the bat soon. A 38% strikeout rate in High-A ain’t good … Adam Warren is doing Adam Warren things with Triple-A Scranton. Through three appearances: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. The bullpen has been mostly dynamite this year, so Warren doesn’t fit anywhere barring injuries (plural), but it is nice having him in the organization and pitching well.

5. 2021 draft prospect: UC Santa Barbara RHP Michael McGreevy. 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.

McGreevy turns 21 a week before the draft and is one of the younger college juniors in the draft class. He was not drafted out of high school and he was very good as a freshman reliever for the Gauchos, throwing 60.1 innings with 53 strikeouts and a 1.94 ERA. McGreevy moved into the rotation last spring and struck out 26 with a 0.99 ERA in 27.1 innings before the pandemic.

So far this spring McGreevy has a 2.96 ERA with 88 strikeouts and eight walks in 76 innings. He’s also hit eight batters, weirdly. MLB.com ranks him the 32nd best prospect in the draft class and Baseball America (subs. req’d) ranks him 34th. Here’s some video and here’s a snippet of MLB.com’s scouting report:

The 6-foot-4 McGreevy has always thrown a lot of strikes, walking just over two batters per nine innings in 2019-2020 combined. That continued this year, and he became even more interesting with harder and sharper stuff. His fastball is now up to 96 mph consistently, sitting around 93 mph and thrown with good sinking movement. He has two distinct breaking pitches, with his solid slider a touch ahead of his developing curveball. He knows how to mix in an average changeup as well … McGreevy’s uptick in stuff has not come at the expense of his control, with his stuff playing up even more because of his ability to command all four pitches.

For what it’s worth, various mock drafts have McGreevy coming off the board solidly in the first round (MLB.com has him going at No. 21 and Baseball America at No. 23). The rankings cited above have him in the 30s and they’re a little outdated. McGreevy’s stock is on the rise.

As a command righty from UC Santa Barbara, the comparisons to Shane Bieber are inevitable, though they’re unfair. Bieber is a Cy Young winner! He also made huge gains in pro ball, and while taking command pitchers and helping them improve their velocity and spin is the hot new thing, Bieber is basically the best case scenario. That’s an unrealistic expectation for anyone.

That is the idea though, and the Yankees jumped on this development bandwagon with T.J. Sikkema and Beck Way in recent years. McGreevy has size and command, and his stuff is already pretty good. If you can get him into the 96-98 mph range consistently, and improve one of his breaking balls, then you’re talking about a potential high-end starter.

The Yankees have gone position player heavy in the early rounds the last few years (only five pitchers in the top five rounds the last three years) and it is intentional. Scouting director Damon Oppenheimer recently confirmed it. If they do go pitcher in the first round though, McGreevy is their current type, and he’s expected to come off the board in the No. 20 range. It fits.

6. Remembering a random Yankee: Bubba Crosby. This week’s random Yankee was a role player with several memorable moments, and he was also the subject of one of Brian Cashman’s most (in)famous quotes. Here’s the random Yankee archive. You can find links back to everyone we've covered there.

Born Richard Stephen Crosby, the nickname “Bubba” came about because his older sister, then 15 months old, couldn’t say “brother” when he was born, and it stuck. "I tried to change it in school, call myself Richard, but kids would call for me and ask for Richard, and my parents would burst out laughing and say, 'You mean Bubba?'" he told Gary Miller in 2004.

Crosby won a Texas state championship while at Bellaire High School and he was a monster at Rice. He hit .394/.504/.828 with 25 home runs in 58 games as a junior in 1998, and he still ranks second in school history in homers (59, eight behind Lance Berkman), total bases (499, 73 behind Berkman), and RBI (243, 29 behind Berkman). Who knew?

That performance made Crosby a first round pick in 1998. The Dodgers selected him with the No. 23 pick, four picks after Cleveland took CC Sabathia. Despite his pedigree, Crosby didn’t didn’t do much in the minors, hitting .216/.274/.278 in 56 High-A games in his pro debut. He didn’t reach Double-A until 2001 and he didn’t reach the big leagues until 2003.

“(He) has shown nothing to merit his $995,000 signing bonus,” wrote Baseball America (subs. req’d) in a scathing 2001 scouting report. “The Dodgers have been patient with Crosby and admit he hasn't been a complete flop.”

Crosby made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in May 2003 and went 1-for-12 (.083) in nine games. He was sent back to Triple-A about a week later, after Los Angeles signed 44-year-old Rickey Henderson to be their extra outfielder behind Dave Roberts, Shawn Green, and Brian Jordan. They also added Jeromy Burnitz at the deadline. Crosby wasn’t cracking that outfield.

"Even though Rickey Henderson is one of the greatest baseball players ever, it was still, to me, kind of a slap in my face that I didn't get an opportunity," Crosby told Tyler Kepner in 2005. "I was a Dodger, and in that organization, that's all they talk about: breeding young talent, moving through the organization. It was kind of like, what else do I need to do?"

The Yankees acquired Crosby at the 2003 trade deadline along with Scott Proctor in exchange for Robin Ventura. Ventura became expendable after the Yankees added Aaron Boone, and Cashman was looking to shed money and add depth to the organization. Crosby spent the rest of 2003 with Triple-A Columbus, hitting .302/.366/.460 with two homers in 16 games.

“He did a tremendous job as a Yankee. I can’t say enough about what Robin was here for us, and how he was in the clubhouse as well,” Cashman told George King after the trade. “... When Aaron Boone became available, we felt it was one of those rare opportunities, and one of those opportunities we couldn’t pass up.”

An excellent Spring Training (.385 with two homers) earned Crosby, then 27, a spot on the 2004 Opening Day roster even though the Yankees had three big name veteran outfielders (Gary Sheffield, Bernie Williams, random Yankee Kenny Lofton) plus reigning AL Rookie of the Year runner-up Hideki Matsui. Crosby was to be the seldom-used fifth outfielder.

It did not take Crosby long to endear himself to Yankees fans. He socked a home run in his very first at-bat as a Yankee (video), then he went deep again in his next game. In that game, Crosby also crashed into the wall making a catch in what would be Mike Mussina’s 200th career win. “I have a feeling you haven't seen the last of him,” then-manager Joe Torre told Jack Curry after the game.

Despite Torre’s quote, Crosby did not get into another game until 10 days later. He went 2-for-13 (.154) the rest of April, found himself back in Triple-A in May, then returned in June. Crosby barely played the rest of 2004, going 3-for-32 (.094) in the team’s final 112 games. He started two (!) of those 102 games and mostly replaced Sheffield for defense in the late innings.

The Yankees carried Crosby on their postseason roster that year and he appeared in three of their 11 games, twice as a pinch-runner and once as a defensive replacement. All told, he went 8-for-53 (.151) with the two home runs in 55 big league games in 2004. Another strong Spring Training landed Crosby on the 2005 Opening Day roster.

"There's no better feeling than when you go out there and work so hard and finally win the job, because it just shows that hard work pays off," Crosby told Kepner. He spent most of 2005 going up and down, appearing in 51 MLB games and 74 Triple-A games through the end of August. In those 51 MLB games, Crosby went 9-for-43 (.209) with no homers.

September 2005 was the best month of Crosby’s career. According to Kepner, he worked with then-hitting coach Don Mattingly to shorten his swing, and the result was a 17-for-50 (.340) run in the season’s final month. Crosby socked a walk-off home run against Orioles lefty Eric DuBose on Sept. 19th. He pimped it and got a curtain call. Here’s the video.

"I've never hit a walk-off homer ever, in my whole life, not even in Little League," Crosby told Kepner after the game. "To do it at Yankee Stadium, this time of year, when it counts, it just doesn't get any better than this."

Crosby hit .276/.304/.327 with one home run in 103 plate appearances during the 2005 regular season. He started three of the five ALDS games against the Angels in center field (Williams was the DH) and went 2-for-8 in the series. Most notably, Crosby crashed into Sheffield with runners on first and second with two outs in the second inning in Game 5. Here’s video.

"Sheff said he thought -- right at the last second -- that he was going to catch it, and I thought at the last second that I was going to catch it. It was perfectly placed,” Crosby told Kepner after the game. The Adam Kennedy triple turned a 2-1 Yankees lead into a 3-2 Angels lead. The Halos went on to win the game 5-3 and eliminate the Yankees.

By the 2005-06 offseason, it was abundantly clear the Yankees needed a center fielder. Bernie was nearing the end of the line and Crosby wasn’t suited for full-time duty. Johnny Damon was among the top center fielders in the game at the time and a free agent. It was a natural fit. Cashman played coy, however, and said he was comfortable with Crosby as his 2006 center fielder.

"Center field is not easy to fill," Cashman told Kepner at the 2005 Winter Meetings. "That's why I continue to say that Bubba Crosby could very well be that guy. I know he's sitting at home somewhere saying, 'I hope they don't do anything.’”

Cashman never explicitly said “Bubba Crosby will be our center fielder” (the quote has become warped over the years) but the insinuation was the Yankees did not feel pressure to add a center fielder because they had Crosby (and plenty of offense to support him). That was silly, of course, and the Yankees signed Damon to a four-year, $52M contract right before Christmas.

"We know George Steinbrenner's reputation. He always wants to have the best players, and I think he showed that tonight,” Damon told Kepner after agreeing to sign with the Yankees. “He and Brian Cashman came after me hard, and now I'm part of the Yankees and that great lineup, and we're going to be tough to beat."

The Yankees brought Williams back in addition to signing Damon, so those two went into 2006 alongside Matsui and Sheffield as the top four outfielders. They also had Melky Cabrera, who debuted in 2005, waiting in Triple-A. He was younger with much more upside than Crosby, and stepped into the starting lineup when Matsui and Sheffield got hurt early in the season.

Crosby spent 2006 as the seldom used fifth outfielder, appearing in only 65 of the team’s first 105 games, and starting only 19 times. He went 18-for-87 (.207) with a home run in those 65 games. On Aug. 5th, the Yankees designated Crosby for assignment to clear a roster spot for reliever Jose Veras at a time when the bullpen was taxed and a fresh arm was needed.

“We tried going with 11 (pitchers), but I wasn’t comfortable,” Torres told King. “(Crosby) became a luxury item.”

In parts of three seasons with the Yankees, Crosby hit .223/.263/.311 with four home runs in 196 games and 257 plate appearances. He started only 50 games in those three seasons. By WAR, Crosby is one of the worst players in franchise history. The bottom of the position player WAR leaderboard:

1. Enrique Wilson: -3.1 WAR in 264 games
2. Tony Womack: -2.2 WAR in 108 games
3. Bill Robinson: -2.0 WAR in 210 games
4. Johnny Sturm: -1.9 WAR in 124 games
5. Pee-Wee Wanninger: -1.9 WAR in 117 games
6. Curt Blefary: -1.7 WAR in 120 games
7. Walter Blair: -1.6 WAR in 216 games
8. Bubba Crosby: -1.5 WAR in 196 games
9. Ruben Sierra: -1.5 WAR in 383 games
10. Hensley Meulens: -1.9 WAR in 159 games

Crosby cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A after being designated for assignment in 2006, and he never played in the big leagues again. He became a minor league free agent after the season, signed with the Reds, was limited to 13 Triple-A games by a shoulder injury in 2007, then retired after failing a physical with the Mariners during Spring Training 2008. Not sure what he's up to these days.

7. Rapid fire thoughts. Zack Britton was originally scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset tomorrow, but that is being pushed back due to “general soreness,” Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch. Britton faced hitters in Scranton on Saturday (here’s video) and everything went well that day, but he’s sore in the aftermath. “He was really encouraged. He was a little rusty, but felt his stuff was good and his arm felt great,” Boone told Dan Martin over the weekend. Britton can’t be activated until May 30th, so there’s still time to rest up and get 4-5 rehab outings, which is a typical reliever Spring Training workload … Clarke Schmidt is playing catch at 100 feet, Boone said over the weekend. It’s good he’s making progress, but it sounds like Schmidt is still a ways away. A normal Spring Training progression would put him on track to return sometime around the All-Star break. I’m not expecting Schmidt to be much of a factor this year, and the injury dings his trade value too. Not great … The Yankees had another support staff member test positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. It was another breakthrough positive (i.e. positive despite being fully vaccinated) with no symptoms. They had no positives Thursday and Friday before the staffer tested positive Saturday. The Yankees are up to nine positive cases, though eight are completely asymptomatic and the other only had minor symptoms. That’s good. Hopefully the outbreak ends there.

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